Benedict Cumberbatch in "Hamlet"

[jadpdr]

I quite like Caesar and Anthony and Cleopatra myself! What BC cannot afford at this juncture is disparaging, lukewarm reception of his performance, it will have deleterious effects on many aspects of his career if he is considered a lightweight, after having been hailed as the Laurence Olivier of his generation. That is the gamble and the risk, not the reviews!

[Arcadia]

Hmmm ... I think I sort of agree with Toby about the reviews, but dang, those pictures just make me want to see it even more. I've never seen Hamlet in modern dress, I'm having a hard time imagining how it will work.

[T.o.b.y]

I actually think it is appropriate to do Shakespeare plays in modern dress, because weren't they originally performed in costumes based on the fashions of the time they were written in rather than the era during which they were supposed to take place - if that was specified at all?

 

Btw, book recommendation: "Shakespeare" by Bill Bryson. Very entertaining and informative.

[Carol the Dabbler]

You sound like Moftiss talking about Sherlock Holmes!  :D

[Arcadia]

Btw, book recommendation: "Shakespeare" by Bill Bryson. Very entertaining and informative.

 

Oh, I like Bill Bryson. Another book to add to my list!

[T.o.b.y]

For those among us who understand German and are still wondering what the heck Hamlet is about, I cannot resist linking to this: A German a capella group has summarized the play in 3 minutes:

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b3k8vJjUCiQ

 

Maybe when I have time, I could try my hands at an English translation, but I doubt it would still sound funny.

[Inge l-w]

Das ist einsame Spitze! Dear Toby, you have my heartfelt thanks! When I remember how the thing is made up of actual history (King Christian VI and Kirsten Munk, Joergen Rosenkrantz etc.) and also older versions of being hoist by one's own petard, like King Mithridates and his wife Laodicea, who was made to drink the poisoned cup meant for him, or Siegfried's fatal hunting trip with the already prepared venomous spear, I'm also reminded about all great stories in the world, like Sherlock, having been pinched from somebody else first, or copy-pasted from true stories! You are right, it is hilariously funny as rap! By the way, it's try your hand at sth.

All the same, I still can't equate Messrs. Moffat and Gatiss with the Bard. Not yet!

[jadpdr]

And don't forget the Oresteia by Aeschylus, of which Hamlet is a direct rip-off: the son sworn to slay his mother Clytaemnystra for plotting the death of his father, Agammemon and then going on to marry the uncle, Aegisthus. Of course, there hubris intervenes, and Orestes is plagued by the vengeful Erinyes for committing matricide, much like Hamlet having to die in the end!

[J.P.]

Love it, TOBY.

 

So Mr S needed three hours to tell this simple story?  

 

;)

[Carol the Dabbler]

... I still can't equalise Messrs. Moffat and Gatiss with the Bard. Not yet!

 

No, of course not.  Not till they've been dead for 400 years!  :D

[Inge l-w]

Ms Maltby, of the infamous Times review, was interviewed on BBC 4, and she gave her two-star ranking and the headline she used "Alas poor Benedict..." based solely on her dislike of the fact that the "to be or not to be" speech was moved right to the moment he appeared on scene, and not repeated afterwards in its rightful place, which can hardly be his fault, since it is a decision made by the director. She flattened the actor with a hammer for a fault committed by the director! She also said that another newspaper had been offered insider scoops in exchange for favourable reviews later on, which is why she jumped the gun, so to speak.

Well, Shadow Dweller had better start adding Murdoch and Maltby to her list of M people, right up there with Moriarty, Magnusen and Mary.

Sticks and stones etc. , but such guided malice takes one's breath away!

[T.o.b.y]

Out of fairness towards the vast majority of not-German speaking forum members, I have tried to translate the Wise Guys' Hamlet rap I linked to. I have never done this sort of thing before, especially not with rhymes, so be lenient with me... It's a rather loose translation, I changed things around to capture the spirit of the thing more than the exact words:

 

While Hamlet's in Wittenberg, studying

His uncle here does a devilish thing:

He poisons Hamlet's father, evil but shrewd,

and takes the queen as his wife – he's a lewd old dude.

When Hamlet gets home, the whole country's in tears,

they say that when it's night, a ghost appears.

The ghost is Hamlet's father, who says: „We need to talk -

Your uncle took my life, you gonna let him walk?“

 

The case is clear: revenge, please!

But poor Hamlet feels ill at ease.

He writhes and squirms, he's in trouble to no end,

so he pretends he's gone round the bend.

The main idea behind this mime:

Hamlet just wants to buy more time.

Soon foes and friends fall for the trick,

the whole court goes: Hamlet's brain is sick.

 

Hamlet, Prince of ol' Denmark,

he's supposed to take revenge, but he can't find his mark.

Hamlet is in a very tight place:

To be or not to be is the question he must face.

Hamlet, Danish dynamite:

An absolute must-read on a transatlantic flight.

Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest hoot:

One man dies, and they all follow suit.

 

Hamlet stabs Polonius to death,

that's why Ophelia draws her last breath.

She was his daughter and Hamlet's girl

Hamlet goes to the graveyard and talks to a skull.

Ophelia's brother, Laertes, comes home and roars:

„Has anybody here seen my swords?“

He wants to kill Hamlet ASAP

A deadly duel is the answer, think the uncle and he.

 

When Hamlet meets Laertes at the gym,

his rapier is poisoned to the brim.

The uncle's put the stuff in the victor's cup as well

And hopes that all will go just swell.

The drama reaches a whole new level,

The weapons were swapped, as if by the hand of the devil.

Now both are wounded and bound to die,

Hamlet grants Laertes forgiveness, eye to eye.

 

Hamlet, Prince of ol' Denmark,

he's supposed to take revenge, but he can't find his mark.

Hamlet is in a very tight place:

To be or not to be is the question he must face.

Hamlet, Danish dynamite:

An absolute must-read on a transatlantic flight.

Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest hoot:

One man dies, and they all follow suit.

 

By cruel fate, the mother takes the cup and drinks,

The uncle turns white with shock, he thinks:

Shit, that was for the son!

But his wife has already fallen and is gone.

Hamlet sees his mother is past the help of the best,

And makes his uncle drink the rest.

That was really not a very happy group of Danes,

Almost everyone is dead, and silence remains.

 

Hamlet, Prince of ol' Denmark,

he's supposed to take revenge, but he can't find his mark.

Hamlet is in a very tight place:

To be or not to be is the question he must face.

Hamlet, Danish dynamite:

An absolute must-read on a transatlantic flight.

Hamlet, Shakespeare's greatest hoot:

One man dies, and they all follow suit.

 

Hamlet – he was a Danish prince

His fate made thousands of Danes cry and wince.

His plans for revenge have haunted every tyrant since

Hamlet – he was The Danish prince.

[J.P.]

 

Gosh, you're good!

[J.P.]

Here is your prize:

 

 

Happy Little Prince. He looks like 15.

[Arcadia]

Out of fairness towards the vast majority of not-German speaking forum members, I have tried to translate the Wise Guys' Hamlet rap I linked to. I have never done this sort of thing before, especially not with rhymes, so be lenient with me... It's a rather loose translation, I changed things around to capture the spirit of the thing more than the exact words:

OMG, Toby, that was hysterical! LOVED the chorus, I almost choked myself laughing. Bravo! THANK YOU!

 

Ah, yessssssssss. I've missed that smile.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Thanks, T.o.b.y -- that was terrific!  :D

 

You oughta go into the translating-rap-from-German-to-English business!

 

[T.o.b.y]

OMG, Toby, that was hysterical! LOVED the chorus, I almost choked myself laughing. Bravo! THANK YOU!

 

You are very welcome! But credit where credit is due: The hilarity of the chorus is due to the genius that is the Wise Guys, not me. I just translated it (and switched two lines, because I couldn't make "dynamite" rhyme with anything related to dying).

 

I really like them. I've seen them live, too, they're really good, and their lyrics are very clever. The best line in the Hamlet rap is actually one I failed to translate: "Er kommt nicht aus dem Quark". I think that sums up the whole play. It's somewhat like "he can't get off his ass" and "he can't get his act together", but... not quite. I think the best translation for that sentence would be "he behaves likes Hamlet!" :D

[sfmpco]

Ben gets a bit tough about the cameras in the Barbican.

 

http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-08-09/benedict-cumberbatch-stops-by-barbican-stage-door-to-ask-fans-not-to-film-hamlet

[J.P.]

But still that damn eloquence. Don't get every line of this, but I've heard only one ermmm. ;)

 

Anyway, I was reading some tweet exchange recently, it seems that e.g. in France it is perfectly normal to make photos during the play as long as there is no flash. So it's maybe the staff's failure to communicate it, because they didn't take the inter-nationality of the audience into consideration.

 

Plus: have you seen that? Ben wasn't torn to pieces by rabid fans! IT'S A WONDER !

 

I hope the cast and crew can have some rest today and leave bad luck behind them.   

[Inge l-w]

Overall, it was a very politely phrased request by a gentleman to his fans, but with the technical mishaps and everything else dogging this production, one should think he was doing Macbeth, a notoriously bad-luck play, not Hamlet!

And in Radio Times there's a quiz about the "to be or not to be " soliloquy which could fit into ShadowDweller's quizzes thread. Got 36/36, but then I read the whole thing on the opening night, just to imagine hearing the words, so it was fresh in my mind!

Dear TOBY, you said somewhere above that you would not read any reviews, read the play and watch the filmed version on October 15th, all things going well, but you should be aware that apart from moving the speech to the beginning, the director has abridged the play by about three quarters of an hour. It was reported on BBC Radio 4.

Now, all we need is someone who managed to get a ticket, is not evicted and knows the play, to find out what has been collated or cut out of it.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Sherlockology has posted their review of Cumberbatch's Hamlet. (Note that it discusses "elements of the play relating to both the plot and staging, which some could construe as spoilers.")

[Carol the Dabbler]

You are very welcome! But credit where credit is due: The hilarity of the chorus is due to the genius that is the Wise Guys, not me. I just translated it (and switched two lines, because I couldn't make "dynamite" rhyme with anything related to dying).

 

You "just translated it," huh?  It's hard enough to translate factual stuff so that it sounds right.  Translating humor can be damn-near impossible!

 

I hope the cast and crew can have some rest today and leave bad luck behind them.   

 

Umm -- don't you mean "break a leg"?  ;)

 

... in Radio Times there's a quiz about the "to be or not to be " soliloquy which could fit into ShadowDweller's quizzes thread. Got 36/36, but then I read the whole thing on the opening night, just to imagine hearing the words, so it was fresh in my mind!

 

Here's the quiz, everybody!

[J.P.]

 

Umm -- don't you mean "break a leg"?  ;)

 

Both - if necessary. :P

[Arcadia]

The quiz informed me that Shakespeare studies are my strong suit. Not! :p  21 out of 36, and some of those were just deciding what made the most sense.

[Carol the Dabbler]

Ha -- I got twenty-two!  :P  (About half of which were guesses that I thought sounded more like Shakespeare -- but surely knowing what sounds like him should count for something, right?)