What Others Say: Hamlet The Clown Prince
Here’s what The Hindu (Delhi) had to say about the play:
What is truly remarkable about “Hamlet – the Clown Prince”, is that it breaks and constructs the “fourth wall” (the division between audience and actors) with quicksilver speed. The play alternates between episodes where the actors actually talk to the audience and episodes where the audience is carried away in the magic of theatre.
Read the full piece here.
Of special note is how the play adapts its dialogue based on the location/audience. In Bangalore, the actors joked about the distance of the airport from the city, the confounding mains and crosses, and the strict entry timing of Rangashankara. In Delhi, it seems, they went on about "the chaos that is Delhi, where it is impossible to find parking and where everything is in circles".
The audience interaction too changes with the people in the show. My friend who watched another show from the front row had a joker talk with her quite a lot, and the things he said were different from those of my show.
It’s weird but I’ve never come across a play review in The Hindu (Bangalore) which is unequivocally positive. True to nature, they aren’t that happy with Hamlet The Clown Prince either.
…prepare to offer us a glimpse of the tragic prince through the lens of a clown. But this, unfortunately, does not happen. What we are treated to instead is a spoof on Hamlet, ribald, rib-tickling, if sometimes sophomoric, …
Read the full piece here.
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