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At the Barbicon Theatre in London, the home of Shakespeare's plays, Ninagawa Yukio, the director, combined movie and the theater production to present Hamlet starring Sanada Hiroyuki and Matsu Takako from August 28th to September 3rd. At the last performance, the full house audience which consisted of more than half British, the entire audience (over 1.200 of them) stood up and kept on cheering (applauding). The theatre was filled with a strange and unusual excitement.
Unlike the U.S. audiences, who stand up and cheer (or applaud) the minute the play is over, it is rare for the British to stand up and applaud. Even if some of the audience stands up, many would sit stubbornly. But Ninagawa's Hamlet has left a strong impact on the English fans, who claim England as the home of Shakespeare.
Mr. Ninagawa is the only foreigner who gets an invitation to produce a play every year by the English who is the "King of the Theatre". This Hamlet is the tenth production starting with Macbeth, which he produced thirteen years ago.
Again, the great Japanese director, Ninagawa showed us the play which was so original and brilliant that it burnt into our brain and left an indelible mark. It was the supreme play, "The acting was superb and I almost had an illusion (feeling) that I can understand Japanese!" These were the words of the critic of the most prestigious and highly regarded Daily Telegraph newspaper. The critics of other publications were also all in agreement on Ninagawa's Hamlet. These words are from the jaded critics who must have seen Hamlet many many times in their lives, yet they were amazed at Ninagawa's Hamlet, which was filled with the fresh and wondrous stage presentation.
The translator Matsuoka Kazuko's crisp rendering of the play helped the tempo of the play and even the many long soliloquy moved the majority of audience who couldn't have understood the dialogue. It was a strange sight as they listened intently to Sanada Hiroyuki's Hamlet's speech (or words) that one could hear the pin drop. It is a hard part for an actor to play. Hamlet with his many different moods, but Mr. Sanada mastered Hamlet whose father was murdered and mother violated, showed his loneliness, sensitivity, his brilliant mind, anguish, anger and starving for love brilliantly, praised the London Times' famous critic who is known usually for the harsh critiques he dishes out.
Matsu Takako's Ophelia was so touching, her sorrow made our heart ache. Her acting was well reviewed. And it must be noted that the music by Kasamatsu Taiyo was beautiful and added to the play and enhanced Ninagawa's Hamlet.
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