Hamlet: Presented by Theatrum, Tallinn, Estonia (2004)

Hamlet Presented by Theatrum, Tallinn, Estonia. October 13, 2003 (ongoing). Translated into Estonian by Georg Meri. Directed by Lembit Peterson. Designed by Lilja Blumenfeld. Lighting by Kalle Karindi. Make up by Helga Aliis Saarlen. Sound by Eva Eensaar, Marius Peterson and Lembit Peterson. Fights by Indrek Sammul. With Roman Baskin (Claudius), Marius Peterson (Hamlet), Aleksander Eelmaa (Polonius and Grave Digger), Mart Aas (Horatio), Andri Luup (Laertes), Kaie Mihkelson (Gertrude), Maria Peterson (Ophelia), Lembit Peterson (the Ghost and First Actor), Kaido Rannik (Rosencrantz), Kristo Toots (Guildenstern), Tarmo Song (Marcellus, Actor, Osric), Helvin Kaljula (Francisco, Cornelius, Reynaldo, Priest), Eva Eensaar (Actor), Margo Mitt (Bernardo, Valtemand, Norwegian Chief), and Erkki Penart (Fortinbras, Messenger, Valtemand's Acquaintance). It is not common even in English-speaking countries that a nearly uncut version of Hamlet is produced. But Theatrum, unlike the other two recent companies to put on the play in Estonia, bravely tackled the full text and put on stage a nearly five-hour show. Significantly this Hamlet, unlike many Eastern-European Hamlets, did not make political or social comments, but stressed instead the timeless values of the play. Mainly due to this production the director, Lembit Peterson, was nominated the best Estonian director for 2003. Performed in the Tallinn Old Town, in the unused and almost unheated St. Catherine's Church, the play immediately drew the audience into the frosty atmosphere of the Danish Court. The arrival of Horatio, wrapped in a gray blanket similar to those supplied to the audience to keep warm, stressed the element of audience involvement even further. The audience was not to expect the story to be explained to them; we had to think with the characters on stage. The almost sterile white stage was surrounded by black curtains that created a black-box stage in a church shell. The set was minimalist: a rectangular hole with a sloping floor in the middle of the stage area, two chairs (thrones) on another slope upstage, and in the distance, in near-darkness, the wall of the church with a window. The costumes complemented the set. In addition to black and white, various shades of gray were used. Hamlet wore a black outfit with white collar, Claudius a long black robe over a long white undergarment. Both Gertrude and Ophelia wore white aprons, which stressed Gertrude's status as a married woman but made Ophelia look like an old-time Russian schoolgirl. In striking contrast to the black-and-white aesthetic of the main action were the actors of the Mousetrap. They used a green cloth for their stage area and wore bright reds and oranges. Both the empty stage and the simplified, symbolic costumes kept the attention on the text and acting. From the first court scene (which reminded one of a dark royal portrait in a white frame) it became clear that Hamlet was a scholar whose intellectual powers had no proper outlet in the court. He wore a student's cap. The problem of presenting a madman he tackled with a true scholarly thoroughness, mixing his knowledge of what madmen are like with his experiences of acting. The element of Hamlet as a scholar was stressed when he lectured to Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who wore graduate caps but who, with their backs turned to us as they sat on the edge of the slope, became the students of Hamlet with the rest of the audience (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, as well as Osric, were the only characters in this production for whom we felt no sympathy at any point in the play). …