This Above All: Guthrie’s Brutalist Take on Hamlet is a Must See
Call the noblest to the audience for Guthrie’s 60th Anniversary Edition of Hamlet
By Srihita Raju with art by Brooke Lambrecht
Lights dimmed, a hush fell, and the audience held their collective breath, the same as it happened 60 years ago. When Guthrie Theatre opened its doors in 1963, Sir Tyrone Guthrie knew there was one play that would be perfect for the soon-to-be iconic theater company to begin with. Now, in 2023, Guthrie Theatre is celebrating its 60th anniversary with audiences by revisiting their favorite macabre Danish prince in William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.”
In case you haven’t read the story before, “Hamlet” is the tale of the Prince of Denmark who is struggling with accepting his king father’s death as he watches his uncle marry his queen mother and take the throne of Denmark. One night, while with his totally platonic best friend, Horatio, he is visited by his father’s ghost, who tells him that his death was no mistake, and Hamlet needs to seek revenge on his behalf.
This production of “Hamlet” takes a brutalist approach to stage design. A gray trapezoidal wall towers over the audience with four cutouts: one as a door opening onto a metal landing that connects to a spiral staircase, another door near the bottom of the staircase, and two tall slits in between that help cast long shadows downstage. I’ve only ever seen one other Shakespeare play at the Guthrie, the “Tempest”, so I assumed that traditional Shakespearean stage design was out of question, but I was still surprised by how plain and cold this one was in comparison. Once the actors came onto the stage, it was immediately clear why this choice was made. If you’re unfamiliar, “Hamlet” is an emotional, dramatic, and theatrical (even by theater standards) kind of play. The cold backdrop was the perfect platter for the players to take command over. It allowed for the Late King’s Ghost to appear completely inhuman and terrifying, while also allowing for Hamlet’s monologues about death and morality to feel as if they’re being recited in a cold room alone.
It wasn’t just Prince Hamlet, played by Michael Braugher, and Old Hamlet, played by David Whalen, who shone on stage. Every single actor made you feel the emotions and arcs that their characters were going through. I found myself hanging on to every sentence and every movement from lights down to lights up. I found myself particularly enchanted by Regina Marie Williams’ strong and complex Gertrude, and Anya Whelan-Smith’s portrayal of a heartbroken Ophelia.
One of the best parts of seeing any Shakespeare play in theaters is that audiences are always in for a surprise while waiting to see how each production decides to add their own touches to the play. This production was no exception. There was one specific choice that genuinely made me gasp out loud, and because I want you to experience the same thing, I will not be naming it now. Just know that while the dire circumstances and depressed prince had me on the verge of tears the entire night, creative moments like this one are the ones that took me over the edge.
If there’s one thing I hope people understand about this play, and about Shakespeare plays in general, is that you do not need to be any certain type of person to fall wholeheartedly in love with them. You do not need to be an English major, a theater kid, or even familiar with Shakespeare's work. There is a misunderstanding that the only way to read Shakespeare is to pretentiously dissect it for a grade. On the other hand, some think of the Bard’s plays as little more than bawdy humor. The truth, at least in my opinion, lies in the middle. Shakespeare is able to use relationship dynamics and precise language in a way that immediately connects centuries of readers to a single string of lines. In that same scene, a character can say something absolutely foul that makes high schoolers across the country sweat when they have to recite it aloud in class, but, nonetheless, makes them smile. Shakespeare can be daunting, complex, funny, lovely, perverse, dark, and inspirational all at the same time. Come in as you are, with your own worries and hopes and secrets, and see them reflected on stage in words older than the telescope, but stand to be just as revolutionary. The Guthrie’s 60th anniversary production of “Hamlet” runs until May 21st, and I cannot recommend highly enough that you attend.