NEWS ARCHIVES

Nothing rotten in state of Newmarket for Resurgence

July 25, 2007 - by Sean Pearce, Staff Writer
The Era Banner, York Region Media Group

Hamlet (Solo)
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Robert Ross Parker
Starring Raoul Bhaneja
A Hope & Hell Theatre Production
     (Three and one-half stars out of four)

"Something is rotten in the State of Denmark" the character Marcellus remarks in Act I Scene 4 of Shakespeare’s Hamlet.

That might be true, but, thankfully, nothing was rotten in Newmarket’s Fairy Lake Park last night; quite the opposite.

Hamlet (Solo) took the stage at Resurgence Theatre Company’s newly constructed Open Air Garden Theatre and dazzled the audience that included Newmarket Mayor Tony Van Bynen among other prominent citizens.

I’ll admit I was somewhat unsure of what to expect regarding one of the Bard’s most celebrated and complex works being performed by a single actor.

To put it mildly, the show is nothing short of a triumph.

It’s marvellously minimalist yet wonderfully larger-than-life. Raoul Bhaneja, to his credit, knows his material inside and out.

He is Hamlet and by that I mean he is not just the character, he is the play itself brought to life.

Each character is lovingly acted and given his own voice, personality, mannerisms and characterizations.

From the leads to even the background and secondary characters.

He does this so well, interacts with himself so seamlessly and fills the stage so fully with his passionate presence that you almost begin to forget you are watching just a single actor.

The only quibble, and it is among the minor variety is that, amid the frequent shifts from character to character it occasionally becomes somewhat difficult to follow exactly who is doing what to whom and what they are saying.

The climactic fight scene between Hamlet and Laertes is a good example of this as it quickly becomes difficult to tell who is winning the duel unless you are already familiar with the subject matter.

Still, Mr. Bhaneja does a fantastic job of ensuring that the characterizations come through during the animated action sequence and, if one does become momentarily disoriented, Mr. Bhaneja’s skill as an actor quickly realigns them.

The spot the play really shines, however, is the soliloquies. Mr. Bhaneja manages to take tired cliches such as the famous "To be or not to be" speech and "Alas poor Yorick" and inject them with life and genuine feeling that is as unique as it is refreshing.

Perhaps the only over-the-top moment are the death scenes toward the end where Mr. Bhaneja must die not once, but four times.

This is, however, simply a quirk of the subject matter and not a flaw of the performer.

In short, Hamlet (Solo) is a fantastic adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s finest plays performed by an actor in possession of tremendous skill and understanding of his material.

For those unsure about this particular version of Hamlet, as I was initially, that are asking themselves "To be or not to be" regarding their attendance I would encourage them to vote for the former.

© 2007 York Region Media Group. All rights reserved.
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