The modern version of William Shakespeare’s classic, “Hamlet”, is brought to life through puppetry and physical performance during the month of love.
Still basking in the glory of its successful run at the Chicago International Puppet Festival in January, with standing ovations and raving reviews, “Hamlet” is currently staged at the Pam Golding Theatre at The Baxter until March 11.
Directed and designed by Janni Younge, with Roshina Ratman as assistant director, “Hamlet” depicts Prince Hamlet and his attempts to exact revenge against his uncle, Claudius, who murdered his father in order to seize his throne and marry his mother.
Commanded by the ghost of his father to avenge his death, Hamlet grapples with the value of life and what it means to “set things right”.
Conflicted by strong feelings of love, anger, revenge and retribution, Hamlet fights to right his world, which has been shattered by murder.
Younge said it was important to her and her team to own this version of “Hamlet” as they tell the tragic story of Hamlet's internal struggles using the art of puppetry.
“My very first step in this process was to say to myself, ‘I feel a little out of my depth, taking on this piece of work because of how known it is, how loved it is, how many times it's been done and by how many people’,” reflected Younge.
“In 2020, we launched a workshop, which was supported by the National Arts Council, called ‘Owning Hamlet’ where we invited emerging theatre makers from around Cape Town to come and participate in a week-long program where we would all explore together, ‘what does it mean to take ownership of Hamlet?
“Myself, Andrew Buckland, Roshina Ratnam, Timothy Redpath and Mongi Mthombeni, we each presented skill sets that we have more mastery on. For example, I presented puppet work, and Andrew did a physical performance.”
Younge further explained that it was through this workshop that the vision for this highly acclaimed adaptation of William Shakespeare’s classic play was conceived.
“So there were 20 of us in the room, and we would play and create and discover together what we would imagine being our version of Hamlet and how we would play with objects in that space and images and meanings.
“I'd even brought some of the puppets, which you see on stage, but the way the performance would relate to those puppets and with the text, really emerged out of that workshop process.
“And the concept changed for the production because of what people brought to it. And so, we started to create from there.
The poetry and emotional weight of Shakespeare’s words are echoed in the scale and energy of the puppets.
“I love the fact that we can make visible with this art form some of the complex and beautiful dynamics that are within us, which we are sometimes very aware of and sometimes are not so aware of.
“The cloth, for instance, allows for the puppet and puppeteer to blend and unblend so that the puppeteers can step outside and step away from the puppets, talk to the puppets and speak to each other because we often have two puppeteers manipulating one puppet. So that's one of the main gifts of this particular production.”
According to Younge, though written over 400 years ago by a literacy giant of time of all, William Shakespeare, “Hamlet” is still relatable and relevant to this day.
“Hamlet is in this conflicted position where he has to look into himself and consider what it means to be human, what it means to do something in this world.
“The play is about all of us. We are all constantly faced with choices and the repercussions of those choices.
“I feel that these questions are relevant to us today and how we reflect as human beings within the context of strife and suffering.”
This intense, high-energy production “Hamlet” runs at the Baxter Theatre from February 22 until March 11.
Tickets cost R150 and are available at Webtickets.
DURBAN
“The Moon Looks Delicious From Here”
Where: Rhumbelow Theatre.
When: February 24 - 26.
Through the mediums of physical theatre, mime and characterisation, “The Moon Looks Delicious From Here” is a 60-minute, one-man theatre show which explores immigrant family dynamics and how they shape identity and heritage in a first-generation citizen.
The drama is driven by a loving father and son, each from a different era and motherland.
Here Aldo Brinca plays an array of characters in and around this fragile young nuclear family, some foreign, some local - all of whom are finding or losing themselves in the ever-changing political landscape of their new homeland, South Africa.
JOBURG
Mbuso Khoza's “Isandlwana Lecture”.
Where: SA State Theatre.
When: February 24 - 26.
The “Isandlwana Lecture” was initiated by eShowe-born music star, historian and heritage enthusiast Mbuso Khoza half a decade ago, accompanied by the Afrikan Heritage Ensemble (an acapella group comprising 18 musos).
“When I presented the first lecture, I had especially great expectations. As a lover of history, heritage and culture, as well as music, I toyed with the idea of presenting a lecture, but it had to be something that Africa as a whole would partake in.
“I have always regarded the Isandlwana Battle victory as a triumph for us all as a continent,” said Khoza.
“I then decided to stage a lecture that was music driven with a narration of the past fused with the present to provide an idea of what the battle of Isandlwana meant for the nation and the continent.”
CAPE TOWN
Thandiswa Mazwai’s “A Letter to Azania”
When: February 25.
Where: Artscape Theatre.
“A Letter to Azania” is a music special by musician and cultural figure Thandiswa Mazwai.
It tracks a letter the singer is writing to “Azania” as a place of freedom that she says "takes the audience on a sonic exploration of the utopian idea of Azania while expressing the melancholy that comes with a dream deferred.
Mazwai uses her music to "create new worlds and calls us all to awaken our imagination and remember the teachings of old as we forge a new world".