Off the Ground was formed in the belief that a theatre company is at its best when all the members of the company work together, all give their ideas, and enjoy the work that they are doing. Only when cast and crew know and understand each other and can feel free to try new ideas, make mistakes and suggestions, can a production be totally successful. We aim to work as a team, not a group of individuals. During tour and rehearsals we not only work together, but live and eat together and, on the odd occasion, drink together. On these odd occasions, more often than not, we end up discussing characters and the play.
Is Hamlet a true tragedy? If so, what is his fatal flaw? His indecision is usually cited yet it is this very indecision which ensures that Denmark is purged of its past. And where is Hamlet’s downfall? He is killed, but he dies as a king and is able to prophesy the next monarch. Hamlet’s death, although a fatal inevitability, does not seem to be caused by a flaw in his own character, but by flaws in those around him which force him to react to his position. He, as son of the murdered king, must take on the unwanted role of “scourge and minister.”
Claudius, Gertrude and Laertes all demonstrate classic fatal flaws. Claudius’ ambition and progressive megalomania have resonances with Macbeth. Gertrude seems unable, or unwilling to face reality, and Laertes’ impetuosity and inexperience lead to his unnecessary death. All characters, with the arguable exception of Claudius, are victims of circumstance, and it is Hamlet the Dane, rather than Hamlet the tragic hero who finally ensures the purgation of Elsinore.
The question of madness is, not surprisingly, another which frequently crops up in our conversations. A modern awareness of the differing types of madness no doubt influences the production and our analysis of the characters. Is Hamlet schizophrenic, a manic depressive, suffering from stress or mysoginistic? I believe that he loves Ophelia sincerely. I believe that the death of his father and subsequent speedy marriage of his mother and uncle has distressed him (put yourself in a similar position and it is easy to see why), but I don’t believe that Hamlet ever loses his sanity completely. He is always aware of his own insecurities and weaknesses. He is never inactive, always spurring himself on to what he realises is his own destiny. Only in his dealings with Ophelia, and to a lesser extent with his mother, does he seem to lose control, to be unsure of himself - possibly a result of unrequited love (unrequited at the present anyway) rather than insanity, or even a feigned “antic disposition.”
Hamlet’s and Ophelia’s madness is well documented, but what of the other characters? Everyone at Elsinore seems to be on the edge or in the middle of a breakdown, which gives the play an intensity and a claustrophobic feeling of unease. Claudius, who is unable to pray since murdering his brother, becomes more and more desperate in his attempts to remove Hamlet and to remain on the throne. Gertrude cannot talk to her much loved son, relying on Claudius as her only confidant. Laertes has to watch his sister lose her sanity, and is stranded at court, once again relying on the support and advice of the King. The play is fraught and disturbing, an unnerving portrayal of a decaying dynasty.
Daniel Meigh