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Dateline: 25th August, 2002 Method to Madness Method to Madness is a new 60 minute documentary from Hop Productions which sets out to get to the bottom of who Hamlet is and what motivates him, by asking the actors who have inhabited the character. Presented by Stephen Beckett (Coronation Street, The Bill), it gets to the heart of Hamlet through the revelations and remembrances of Simon Russell Beale, Philip Franks, Russell Jackson, Anton Lesser, Adrian Lester, Sir Derek Jacobi, Michael Maloney, Sheridan Morley, Diana Quick, Sam West and Susannah York as well as an exciting selection of new acting talent. Perhaps more than any role, Hamlet is seen as a personality part where the nature of the actor will inform the troubled Dane that we see; will decide whether he is a lover, an avenging son, a potential suicide or a man who cannot make his mind up. And the part proves a great challenge to any actor due to the weight of those who have inhabited the prince before them and because of the judgement that will be made upon them. This is the role by which every classical actor is measured. In Method to Madness, Russell Jackson, Deputy Director of the Shakespeare Institute describes it as 'a short ride on a fast machine' and Sheridan Morley reminds that: "People have died in it." Even actors of the undoubted calibre of Sir Derek Jacobi who played Hamlet around the world, on stage and onscreen admits: 'It is Himalayan. It is too big to conquer.' The role even caused him to suffer years of stage fright after drying one night ahead of the 'To be or not to be' soliloquy. Michael Maloney (Hamlet in Greenwich, and a celluloid Laertes and Rosencrantz) is lauded as one of the best verse speakers of his generation and yet he reveals that he was too terrified to say yes to playing the part for many years. He believes that it can be 'psychologically dodgy'. Put simply he says, 'You are choosing to join death club.' Anton Lesser (Hamlet, Piccadily 1982) found it disturbing because in Hamlet there is nowhere to hide. 'You have to put as little as you can between you and the words on the page. It is not building a part up. It is stripping yourself down.' The recently acclaimed RSC Hamlet Sam West calls it 'frightening' saying the key is to avoid playing the part as the commodity 'Hamlet the theme park'. He wasn't interested in that or in 'a Hamlet with all the answers.' Simon Russell Beale further exploded the myth that Hamlet needs to be blonde, young, athletic and Danish with a heart breaking, humorous and romantic portrayal of the part at the National Theatre. He admits that his Hamlet was 'less savage than I expected.' There is no easy escape from the role, it proving difficult to wrench aside at the end of a performance. Philip Franks, who has both directed and played the Dane, explains: 'It's as if your eyelids are stapled open. Nothing will do any more.' While Adrian Lester describes how every night for the world tour he put himself in the most incredible amounts of pain. ' But I'm alright now,' he reassures. We also take a probing look at the role of the mother, with two RSC Gertrudes; Susannah York and Diana Quick offering an enlightening perspective, explaining why Gertrude falls silent, why the sexual discomfort between mother and son was just one way and what Gertrude's real mistake was. These are just a few of the bountiful insights that these generous actors shared in the documentary, which has been filmed over the past 18 months in theatres, on houseboats, in hat factories and penthouse suites in an effort to prove that Hamlet changes, mutates and informs from society to society, from time to time and from person to person. Nothing is set in stone, although we have to concur with Sheridan Morley when he states: 'I don't want to see it under water on roller skates.' Enlightened by performance excerpts and a comic look at Hamlet the Musical, it also features a version of the 'To Be or not to Be' soliloquy in which all these Hamlets perform. This intriguing, involving, investigating documentary began life as research for the feature film project, Blood Ties, a darkly tragic story about a vulnerable man whose vengeful dead father destroys him using the play of Hamlet as his weapon of destruction. This is the second venture from Hop! Productions. It was set up by the trio of filmmakers, Vicky Wayman, Cathryn Miles Griffiths and Esther Sutton who were joined on this venture by experienced editor Pete Kyle, composer Alex Silverman, designer Baker and the steady camera operating hands of the talented Tovell siblings, Bruce Goodison, Jez Higham and Steve Moles. Screening information: For information on attending the Method to Madness screenings contact:
vickywayman@yahoo.co.uk or on 07984 602751 or Cathryn Miles Griffiths
on 07811 444535. Please note that all three Archive indices are very long and will therefore take some time to download.
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