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The Tragedy of Hamlet
with
Brook By Brook, Intimate Portrait
Arte Video
£19.99
Review by Philip Fisher
(2006)
At Christmas in 2000, I had the great good fortune to queue up outside
the Theatre Bouffes du Nord in Paris and secure a cushion in front of
the audience to witness Adrian Lester starring in Peter Brook's The
Tragedy of Hamlet.
It was one of those amazing theatrical experiences where discomfort,
and the tatty nature of a theatre that has seen far more affluent times,
is soon forgotten for the magic on stage. Admittedly, it helps a great
deal when the running time is only just over two hours rather than somewhere
much closer to four.
One of the benefits of the DVD age is that many landmark theatrical
productions have been recorded and are becoming available at manageable
prices. In addition to a faithful recording of the Brook Hamlet,
this DVD also offers a film profile of the incomparable director by
his son, Simon.
This Hamlet is like no other that you have ever seen. Wherever
possible, it is pared down in the classic Brook way so that he achieves
the essence of the play without great fuss.
This version is little more than half the length of the original and
moves scenes around with alacrity. In addition, it loses many of the
peripheral characters, as well as some that are more central including
Fortinbras, Yorick and the early Laertes, who only makes his initial
appearance after his father's death.
Even with so much cut, there is never a feeling of excessive urgency
about this production. The acting tends towards the matter-of-fact and
gives the production a contemporary veneer, although the geography is
somewhere far to the east of Denmark, with Polonius' family Asian and
haunting Eastern music from Toshi Tsuchitori.
The set is inevitably almost bare with a square red playing space complemented
by the lighting and surrounded by attractively designed screens.
The strength of this film is built upon a marvellous performance by
Adrian Lester as a dreadlocked Hamlet who never even approaches madness.
He may see his father's ghost and seek revenge but his sanity is rarely
in question.
This is not a man to suffer fools gladly, whether his mother Gertrude
(underplayed by Natasha Parry), his almost-father the ever threatening
Claudius (Jeffery Kissoon) or a rather straight faced Polonius (Bruce
Myers). In fact, that is a characteristic of this production as Brook
(and fellow adaptor Marie-Helene Estienne) rarely looks for comedy and,
indeed, has cut many of the funnier scenes.
What he achieves is a remarkable authenticity that feels completely
up-to-date. This is aided by an intimacy that was apparent in the theatre
and can be achieved even more dramatically on film with constant use
of the close-up.
Time and again, one is brought up short with a new interpretation and
understanding of the text and the feeling that every actor has followed
the example of the unforgettable Adrian Lester by giving their all to
create a new reality on stage.
As well as Hamlet and the veterans referred to above, Scott Handy,
more recently seen playing Peter Cook in Edinburgh, is a sympathetic
Horatio while the wide-eyed Shantala Shivalingappa and intense Rohan
Shiva make a handsome pair of siblings as Ophelia and Laertes.
Brook rarely seeks high action until the very end when Hamlet and Laertes
fight to the death in a duel made doubly dramatic by everything that
has gone before.
With tremendous acting from a cast drawn from around the world, a new
vision of the play and that Brook je ne sais quoi, this film
should be a must for the DVD collection. While it may not be the only
Hamlet to watch, it would perfectly complement Olivier, Branagh
or one of the many other choices available.
The companion piece is a 70 minute view of the life of Peter Brook
written and directed by his son, Simon. Despite the suggestion in the
cover notes that the offering is a double DVD set, this appears on the
same DVD as Hamlet.
Brook by Brook shows the director en famille with wife
Natasha Parry, daughter Irina and son Simon, as well as the next generations
both up and down. Arguably even more of a family to Peter Brook is the
group of actors with whom he has worked for so many years. Again and
again, the same faces appear whether they are acting Africa in the 1970s
or rehearsing in Paris much more recently.
While much of the biographical material may be familiar, Peter Brook
is never one to avoid controversy and it may surprise some when he states
boldly that he prefers travelling to the theatre. Indeed, this film
chases him around the world to France, England, Japan and the United
States and if one includes extracts from his own films, the globe-trotting
is immense.
Strangely, the most interesting moments come from different strands
of his life. An attempt to discover his own roots along with brother
Alexis proves fruitful, a simple actors' training game with an invisible
bowl of water enlightening, but most surprising of all is his "Laughing
Lady" from Vera Cruz.
This is a pre-Columbian sculpture that apparently "completely
changed my idea of what acting is about". She introduced Brook
to the idea of an actor as "someone who must empty himself".
Depending upon your point of view, she either has a lot to answer for
or helped to change and improve the face of world theatre forever.
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