The long weekend was broken up by work on Saturday. But still it was a good weekend.
The Kalaa Utsavam at the Esplanade this year had some great shows lined up. Thanks to work, I was only able to catch two of them. And o boy, where they worth it.
The first one I saw this thursday, was Hamlet: the Clown Prince, directed by Rajat Kapoor
So a bunch of clowns- you know striped socks, red nose and all, decide to put up Hamlet. This could be the best thing that has happened to our old, familiar Hamlet in a while. Because, when a bunch of fools, take serious drama and turn it into a circus, the depth and complexity of the original suddenly becomes a lot more apparent. Let me explain.
Over the course of the four hundred years since the play's been written, poor prince Hamlet has been dissected obscenely- the character of a boy who thinks too much, does too little, means well, is good, but makes such a mess of things in the end. Of all the gods and heroes of literature, whats this fascination with Hamlet? Maybe its because he is both fettered by his reason and burnt by his passion. Nothing works for him - not his blue blood, not his beautiful face, not his superior talent and great education, not even his supreme sensitivity to the realities of the world. Very sad, how a man with every fortune is still helpless in the face of his own destiny.
In some ways, the story of Hamlet would do well in a circus, if for nothing else, to lighten the brevity of this awful soup. To illustrate my point, let me take you back to early 2007, to my European Literature class. We were studying Crime and Punishment that week.
Prof: This is the greatest novel in European literature. What do you think the point of this story is?
Us: *blink* then cries of-' god, guilt, religion, reason, right, wrong...'
Prof: No, none of that's it. The point is - Chill out. You've got to chill out. Otherwise, you're going to bring an axe down somebody's head.
What I mean to say is, a tragic predicament is so heavy on our senses that you sometimes the only way to see things straight and unbiased is to laugh at it. Like when you see those 'Hitler's mad' videos. Of course its absurd, but the portrayal of Hitler as a horribly spoilt big boy throwing a fit, is probably very close to what 'the anti-christ's' true nature was in the end of his days. Its serious, but its manageable. It doesn't need to happen again.
What if you saw a serious rendition of Hamlet performed or interpreted badly? It would frustrate the hell out of you. But here, you start out with the premise that a bunch of clowns, who dont really get it, are essentially just clowning around, because you know, its a famous play, they want to grab your attention bla bla, so you're much more relaxed and you give into the foolery. And then you have a lot of fun. And surprise surprise, you also gain much insight.
Technically, this shouldn't necessarily be part of an 'Indian' festival of the arts at all, because everything about it, from the premise - clowns performing Shakespeare on the 'street', in french/italian/japanese/takeyourpick gibberish-accented English, to the pop culture references ranging fromThe Dark Knight to the Moonwalk, was really quite borderless. I mean to say that this idea is not located in an Indian mind or the Western mind, although definitely in a mind educated in the western system. So this play is bound to appeal to audiences unfettered by history and geography, since most educated people in the world will identify with English literature and the rest will identify with American pop culture, far more than an Indian story dramatized in English or vice-versa.
I'm suddenly not sure if thats good or bad :|
Anyway, all in all, great show. 2 hours of laughter and brilliance that just has to end with a standing ovation.
P.S: You dont have to have read Hamlet, ever, to know that he's the one who sits down and contemplates suicide, with the famous - 'Tobeornottobe' line. Its everywhere. Singapore's anti-binge-drinking campaign for the youth, titled GYSB- Get Your Sexy Back has a 'smart' tag line - 'Two beers or not two beers?' - this is very different from 'clowning around with Shakespeare'. Ugh, stop lit-abuse!.
The Kalaa Utsavam at the Esplanade this year had some great shows lined up. Thanks to work, I was only able to catch two of them. And o boy, where they worth it.
The first one I saw this thursday, was Hamlet: the Clown Prince, directed by Rajat Kapoor
So a bunch of clowns- you know striped socks, red nose and all, decide to put up Hamlet. This could be the best thing that has happened to our old, familiar Hamlet in a while. Because, when a bunch of fools, take serious drama and turn it into a circus, the depth and complexity of the original suddenly becomes a lot more apparent. Let me explain.
Over the course of the four hundred years since the play's been written, poor prince Hamlet has been dissected obscenely- the character of a boy who thinks too much, does too little, means well, is good, but makes such a mess of things in the end. Of all the gods and heroes of literature, whats this fascination with Hamlet? Maybe its because he is both fettered by his reason and burnt by his passion. Nothing works for him - not his blue blood, not his beautiful face, not his superior talent and great education, not even his supreme sensitivity to the realities of the world. Very sad, how a man with every fortune is still helpless in the face of his own destiny.
In some ways, the story of Hamlet would do well in a circus, if for nothing else, to lighten the brevity of this awful soup. To illustrate my point, let me take you back to early 2007, to my European Literature class. We were studying Crime and Punishment that week.
Prof: This is the greatest novel in European literature. What do you think the point of this story is?
Us: *blink* then cries of-' god, guilt, religion, reason, right, wrong...'
Prof: No, none of that's it. The point is - Chill out. You've got to chill out. Otherwise, you're going to bring an axe down somebody's head.
What I mean to say is, a tragic predicament is so heavy on our senses that you sometimes the only way to see things straight and unbiased is to laugh at it. Like when you see those 'Hitler's mad' videos. Of course its absurd, but the portrayal of Hitler as a horribly spoilt big boy throwing a fit, is probably very close to what 'the anti-christ's' true nature was in the end of his days. Its serious, but its manageable. It doesn't need to happen again.
What if you saw a serious rendition of Hamlet performed or interpreted badly? It would frustrate the hell out of you. But here, you start out with the premise that a bunch of clowns, who dont really get it, are essentially just clowning around, because you know, its a famous play, they want to grab your attention bla bla, so you're much more relaxed and you give into the foolery. And then you have a lot of fun. And surprise surprise, you also gain much insight.
Technically, this shouldn't necessarily be part of an 'Indian' festival of the arts at all, because everything about it, from the premise - clowns performing Shakespeare on the 'street', in french/italian/japanese/takeyourpick gibberish-accented English, to the pop culture references ranging from
I'm suddenly not sure if thats good or bad :|
Anyway, all in all, great show. 2 hours of laughter and brilliance that just has to end with a standing ovation.
P.S: You dont have to have read Hamlet, ever, to know that he's the one who sits down and contemplates suicide, with the famous - 'Tobeornottobe' line. Its everywhere. Singapore's anti-binge-drinking campaign for the youth, titled GYSB- Get Your Sexy Back has a 'smart' tag line - 'Two beers or not two beers?' - this is very different from 'clowning around with Shakespeare'. Ugh, stop lit-abuse!.