Review: Hamlet!! - Tsukigumi 2010
Jan. 21st, 2011 10:47 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
masahiSummary:
A rock-opera adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet.
I had heard good things about this show, before I ever laid hands on it, and since Hamlet was one of Shakespeare's plays which I wrote about in my dissertation, I was very curious. I've seen more versions of this play than I really care to count, some modern, some realist, some historic.
This was a condensed version, mostly because of the limited playing time for a small-stage production, but it got the essence of the play, though it was laced with certain characteristic features of a Takarazuka revue show.
Also, after experiencing both Kabuki and traditional Geisha performance, I've come to realised how much of an influence their theatrical traditions have on Takarazuka. When you come in, unknowing, you miss the gestures, the stances and the stylisation. This was particularly apparent here in the sequences with the Ghost, which could have stepped directly from a Kabuki stage.
The script is pretty much a work-for-word adaptation of a recent translation, and I'm eternally grateful I was sent a copy of the subtitled version. Not like I didn't know what was going on, but due to length, some exchanges are cut and some scenes abridged. The music works with it, sometimes rock, sometimes ballad. 'To Be or Not To Be' is one of the most annoyingly catchy earworms you'll ever find.
The staging was simple, using a basic stair set which had occasional props and different lighting to denote the scene changes. It allowed for action to move up- and downstage, which was particularly well used in scenes like the Ghost's visitation, the graveyard and the final duel.
The costumes, on the other hand, were wildly-extravagant rock affairs, with leather, studs, buckles and massive hair all over the place. Most of the cast had at least two colours in their hair, and the outfits of Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude in particular were somewhere between punk chic and royal-gone-biker. Hamlet's signature costume was mostly black and red, with the cross of the Danish flag prominantly on display.
I could go on and on about the costuming choices and colours used throughout the show, especially Claudius always being in cold, jewel colours, which say so much about him, while Getrude goes from black leather to a tamer gown, but this one the colour of blood, in her confrontation with her son. A lot of this was down to Masaki. This was her show and she had Ideas, and they really, really work.
The cast couldn't have been better. I loved the fact they genderflipped Rozencrantz to add another female role to a show which was somewhat lacking. Oh, and the gravediggers. They reminded me so much of the witches from Macbeth with their gleeful commentary on what's happening before them.
Specifics:
Ryuu Masaki as Hamlet
I quite liked Masaki before I saw this show. She's a talented actress and singer, and her commitment and pride in her work is wonderful. However, Hamlet was the role that really made me admire her a lot. It's not an easy role by any manner of means. Making Hamlet actually sympathetic and keeping the audience from wanting to lob a brick at him is a challenge. She pulled it off in spades.
There was a fragility to her Hamlet, of this youth who was skating so close to the edge of madness. In some scenes, his youth comes across so poignantly, especially his joy and fear at seeing his father, and his love-hate relationship with his mother.
My favourite moments, though, are the scenes with self-confessed "crazy Hamlet!". Masaki has such a ball being completely, barking mad, especially when being fawned upon by Rozencrantz and Guildenstern. The 'Mother!' sequence with Claudius is also so gleefully done. It's moments like these, compared to the moments when he's being haunted and lucid that makes it clear that while he is feigning madness for the public, he's also losing himself and his mind behind the facade.
As this is Takarazuka, the love story gets more prominence as well, and tiny gestures and looks on Masaki's part really put across how much Hamlet regrets hurting Ophelia, but knowing he has to play the madness card for all its worth. She brings him tokens he gave her once, and his hesitation, his expression as he looks at them and remembers, before forcing himself to throw them in her face is agonising.
When he realises who is about to be buried at the graveyard scene, he crumbles. For the first time, the graveyard scene almost had me in tears, as Hamlet rages against Laertes for daring to say he didn't care for her.
As this was the end of the run, her voice was tired, but you wouldn't have noticed, because she tore into every song with such passion and fire. And the final reprise of 'To be or not to be' as Hamlet is dying was so full of emotion. She was simply brilliant.
Ranno Hana as Ophelia
This was Ran-chan's final show with Tsukigumi before heading for the role of Top Star in Hanagumi, and she shone so brightly. I can see why she's been chosen as a fitting Top Star, as she really does have the whole package: grace, charm, acting ability and a crystal-clear singing voice which is lovely.
Ophelia has never been one of my favourite characters, but Ran-chan gave her a sweetness that wasn't too cloying, and a genuine innocence which made the character work. The fact she truly loved Hamlet was never in question, and it's made abundantly clear that the combination of her father's death and Hamlet's hand in it are the things that completely shatter her sanity.
The fragile, mad creature who dances through Claudius' court is an echo of crazy Hamlet as well, with moments of jarring clarity counterpointed by nonsense. Her final run-in with Laertes, when she barely even notices him, is completely heartbreaking.
Itsumine Aki as Getrude
This lady was on loan from Senka, and brought a wonderful grace and dignity to Gertrude. She was a Gertrude who genuinely thought her husband was a good man, until Hamlet's revelation in the bed chamber.
The dyanamic between her and Hamlet was great. She acted as any mother would, faced with a child going mad, both afraid for him and of him, but still utterly devoted to him as well.
Also, her relationship with Claudius is played out brilliantly. She dotes on him, thoroughly smitten and delighting in him, but after the revelation from Hamlet, her body language, and physicality around him completely changes. It's subtle, but even the slightest gesture becomes a mechanism to separate herself from him.
And her death-scene actually shocked me. Unlike other Gertrudes who delicately slump in their chairs, this one realises she has been poisoned and starts down the stairs to Hamlet, collapses and slides almost all the way down the staircase in a graceless heap, which felt so much more real.
Koshino Ryuu as Claudius
Despite the somewhat bewildering costume choice of putting her in a mask (denoting two-faced-ness? Villainy? Something in between?), Ryuu owned the role. Her Claudius could be benevolent when he wanted to, but utterly ruthless and deadly should he need to be.
And yet, in the Confession scene, when he is at prayer, lamenting over his sins, he genuinely did come across as a sympathetic character for all of ten minutes. Then, he plotted Hamlet's murder. And, when confronted with broken Ophelia, looks utterly stricken that his hand has guided the pieces which brought her to this.
What I really loved about her performances was the subtlety of it all: the politiely masked fury, the carefully concealed guilt, the private horror. She made him a wonderful, three-dimensional villain, who knows what he wants, takes it, and is so determined to keep it he will do anything.
And then, it all falls apart when Gertrude drinks. Ryuu-san's utter horror when Claudius realises what he has done was awesome. The fact was that he did love Gertrude, and like Hamlet Senior, wanted no harm to come to her. Seeing his heart break in that moment could not have been more perfect.
Ken Ruisu as the Old King
Really, the Ghost was like something from another age. With everyone in modern rock-ish clothing, to have this creature from beyond the grave moving like a refugee from a Kabuki play was an interesting choice. Everything about the character was so different, so formal, so traditional, which made it seem all the more un-alive, compared to the wild, vivid energy of the rest of the cast. I approve :)
Touka Yurino as Rosencrantz and Houzuki An as Guildenstern
These two were a wonderful double-act, with genuine concern for Hamlet to begin with. The fact they turn on him is less at the King's whim, and more because Hamlet is driving them away, and his actions really do encourage them to believe that the King has the right idea in plotting his death.
Of course, when he turns it around and puts their names on the death-warrant, they're shown downstage, in a glimpse of what's happening over in England, and I did feel momentarily bad for people who were once his friends dying because of him.
Ayazuki Seri as Polonius
I was impressed by how interesting a character Seri made Polonius. Yes, he was a blatant sycophant, sucking up to Claudius all the time, but when push came to shove, he was also a loving father. When Ophelia is left heartb-broken by Hamlet, Polonius realised just how much he had hurt his child by pushing her to do what the King said. There were such interesting layers to the characterisation :)
Azuki Hayate as Horatio
Perfect casting. Absolutely perfect. She was the loyal friend that anyone would be glad to have, resolute and faithful, and looked like a cross between a pirate and a rockstar. I wouldn't mind having one as a pet ;)
Tamaki Ryou as Laertes
This was a big, big surprise. She's such a young actress. I've been a fan longer than she's been in the company! She was wonderful as Laertes, first as the respectful son and loving brother, and then as the vengeful soul who is the mirror to Hamlet.
I was especially impressed in her scenes with Claudius, as they conspire, and Claudius is clearly grooming Laertes to be his weapon with such quiet malevolent pride and pleasure. Everything Claudius does is to gently, gently nudge Laertes to murder without qualms.
Mind you, the scene with mad Ophelia was devastating, when she completely overlooks her horrified brother, until he takes her in his arms and hugs her, and even then, she doesn't recognise him. He looks so utterly broken, with his father dead and his sister in such a state. I'll watch her career with great interest :)
In conclusion: very good show, very good adaptation, great cast and very original interpretation. And the final bows are adorable, when they give Ran-chan her formal send off by bouncing for her ;)
A rock-opera adaptation of William Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet.
I had heard good things about this show, before I ever laid hands on it, and since Hamlet was one of Shakespeare's plays which I wrote about in my dissertation, I was very curious. I've seen more versions of this play than I really care to count, some modern, some realist, some historic.
This was a condensed version, mostly because of the limited playing time for a small-stage production, but it got the essence of the play, though it was laced with certain characteristic features of a Takarazuka revue show.
Also, after experiencing both Kabuki and traditional Geisha performance, I've come to realised how much of an influence their theatrical traditions have on Takarazuka. When you come in, unknowing, you miss the gestures, the stances and the stylisation. This was particularly apparent here in the sequences with the Ghost, which could have stepped directly from a Kabuki stage.
The script is pretty much a work-for-word adaptation of a recent translation, and I'm eternally grateful I was sent a copy of the subtitled version. Not like I didn't know what was going on, but due to length, some exchanges are cut and some scenes abridged. The music works with it, sometimes rock, sometimes ballad. 'To Be or Not To Be' is one of the most annoyingly catchy earworms you'll ever find.
The staging was simple, using a basic stair set which had occasional props and different lighting to denote the scene changes. It allowed for action to move up- and downstage, which was particularly well used in scenes like the Ghost's visitation, the graveyard and the final duel.
The costumes, on the other hand, were wildly-extravagant rock affairs, with leather, studs, buckles and massive hair all over the place. Most of the cast had at least two colours in their hair, and the outfits of Hamlet, Claudius and Gertrude in particular were somewhere between punk chic and royal-gone-biker. Hamlet's signature costume was mostly black and red, with the cross of the Danish flag prominantly on display.
I could go on and on about the costuming choices and colours used throughout the show, especially Claudius always being in cold, jewel colours, which say so much about him, while Getrude goes from black leather to a tamer gown, but this one the colour of blood, in her confrontation with her son. A lot of this was down to Masaki. This was her show and she had Ideas, and they really, really work.
The cast couldn't have been better. I loved the fact they genderflipped Rozencrantz to add another female role to a show which was somewhat lacking. Oh, and the gravediggers. They reminded me so much of the witches from Macbeth with their gleeful commentary on what's happening before them.
Specifics:
Ryuu Masaki as Hamlet
I quite liked Masaki before I saw this show. She's a talented actress and singer, and her commitment and pride in her work is wonderful. However, Hamlet was the role that really made me admire her a lot. It's not an easy role by any manner of means. Making Hamlet actually sympathetic and keeping the audience from wanting to lob a brick at him is a challenge. She pulled it off in spades.
There was a fragility to her Hamlet, of this youth who was skating so close to the edge of madness. In some scenes, his youth comes across so poignantly, especially his joy and fear at seeing his father, and his love-hate relationship with his mother.
My favourite moments, though, are the scenes with self-confessed "crazy Hamlet!". Masaki has such a ball being completely, barking mad, especially when being fawned upon by Rozencrantz and Guildenstern. The 'Mother!' sequence with Claudius is also so gleefully done. It's moments like these, compared to the moments when he's being haunted and lucid that makes it clear that while he is feigning madness for the public, he's also losing himself and his mind behind the facade.
As this is Takarazuka, the love story gets more prominence as well, and tiny gestures and looks on Masaki's part really put across how much Hamlet regrets hurting Ophelia, but knowing he has to play the madness card for all its worth. She brings him tokens he gave her once, and his hesitation, his expression as he looks at them and remembers, before forcing himself to throw them in her face is agonising.
When he realises who is about to be buried at the graveyard scene, he crumbles. For the first time, the graveyard scene almost had me in tears, as Hamlet rages against Laertes for daring to say he didn't care for her.
As this was the end of the run, her voice was tired, but you wouldn't have noticed, because she tore into every song with such passion and fire. And the final reprise of 'To be or not to be' as Hamlet is dying was so full of emotion. She was simply brilliant.
Ranno Hana as Ophelia
This was Ran-chan's final show with Tsukigumi before heading for the role of Top Star in Hanagumi, and she shone so brightly. I can see why she's been chosen as a fitting Top Star, as she really does have the whole package: grace, charm, acting ability and a crystal-clear singing voice which is lovely.
Ophelia has never been one of my favourite characters, but Ran-chan gave her a sweetness that wasn't too cloying, and a genuine innocence which made the character work. The fact she truly loved Hamlet was never in question, and it's made abundantly clear that the combination of her father's death and Hamlet's hand in it are the things that completely shatter her sanity.
The fragile, mad creature who dances through Claudius' court is an echo of crazy Hamlet as well, with moments of jarring clarity counterpointed by nonsense. Her final run-in with Laertes, when she barely even notices him, is completely heartbreaking.
Itsumine Aki as Getrude
This lady was on loan from Senka, and brought a wonderful grace and dignity to Gertrude. She was a Gertrude who genuinely thought her husband was a good man, until Hamlet's revelation in the bed chamber.
The dyanamic between her and Hamlet was great. She acted as any mother would, faced with a child going mad, both afraid for him and of him, but still utterly devoted to him as well.
Also, her relationship with Claudius is played out brilliantly. She dotes on him, thoroughly smitten and delighting in him, but after the revelation from Hamlet, her body language, and physicality around him completely changes. It's subtle, but even the slightest gesture becomes a mechanism to separate herself from him.
And her death-scene actually shocked me. Unlike other Gertrudes who delicately slump in their chairs, this one realises she has been poisoned and starts down the stairs to Hamlet, collapses and slides almost all the way down the staircase in a graceless heap, which felt so much more real.
Koshino Ryuu as Claudius
Despite the somewhat bewildering costume choice of putting her in a mask (denoting two-faced-ness? Villainy? Something in between?), Ryuu owned the role. Her Claudius could be benevolent when he wanted to, but utterly ruthless and deadly should he need to be.
And yet, in the Confession scene, when he is at prayer, lamenting over his sins, he genuinely did come across as a sympathetic character for all of ten minutes. Then, he plotted Hamlet's murder. And, when confronted with broken Ophelia, looks utterly stricken that his hand has guided the pieces which brought her to this.
What I really loved about her performances was the subtlety of it all: the politiely masked fury, the carefully concealed guilt, the private horror. She made him a wonderful, three-dimensional villain, who knows what he wants, takes it, and is so determined to keep it he will do anything.
And then, it all falls apart when Gertrude drinks. Ryuu-san's utter horror when Claudius realises what he has done was awesome. The fact was that he did love Gertrude, and like Hamlet Senior, wanted no harm to come to her. Seeing his heart break in that moment could not have been more perfect.
Ken Ruisu as the Old King
Really, the Ghost was like something from another age. With everyone in modern rock-ish clothing, to have this creature from beyond the grave moving like a refugee from a Kabuki play was an interesting choice. Everything about the character was so different, so formal, so traditional, which made it seem all the more un-alive, compared to the wild, vivid energy of the rest of the cast. I approve :)
Touka Yurino as Rosencrantz and Houzuki An as Guildenstern
These two were a wonderful double-act, with genuine concern for Hamlet to begin with. The fact they turn on him is less at the King's whim, and more because Hamlet is driving them away, and his actions really do encourage them to believe that the King has the right idea in plotting his death.
Of course, when he turns it around and puts their names on the death-warrant, they're shown downstage, in a glimpse of what's happening over in England, and I did feel momentarily bad for people who were once his friends dying because of him.
Ayazuki Seri as Polonius
I was impressed by how interesting a character Seri made Polonius. Yes, he was a blatant sycophant, sucking up to Claudius all the time, but when push came to shove, he was also a loving father. When Ophelia is left heartb-broken by Hamlet, Polonius realised just how much he had hurt his child by pushing her to do what the King said. There were such interesting layers to the characterisation :)
Azuki Hayate as Horatio
Perfect casting. Absolutely perfect. She was the loyal friend that anyone would be glad to have, resolute and faithful, and looked like a cross between a pirate and a rockstar. I wouldn't mind having one as a pet ;)
Tamaki Ryou as Laertes
This was a big, big surprise. She's such a young actress. I've been a fan longer than she's been in the company! She was wonderful as Laertes, first as the respectful son and loving brother, and then as the vengeful soul who is the mirror to Hamlet.
I was especially impressed in her scenes with Claudius, as they conspire, and Claudius is clearly grooming Laertes to be his weapon with such quiet malevolent pride and pleasure. Everything Claudius does is to gently, gently nudge Laertes to murder without qualms.
Mind you, the scene with mad Ophelia was devastating, when she completely overlooks her horrified brother, until he takes her in his arms and hugs her, and even then, she doesn't recognise him. He looks so utterly broken, with his father dead and his sister in such a state. I'll watch her career with great interest :)
In conclusion: very good show, very good adaptation, great cast and very original interpretation. And the final bows are adorable, when they give Ran-chan her formal send off by bouncing for her ;)
