University of Virginia Library

Attempted Mood

Hugh Thomas Flashing His Sword As Hamlet

Mr. Miller tried to suggest a
mood, but it was never as emphatic
as it should have been. Did Hamlet
stand out amongst the other
members of the court as well as he
would have if everyone had not
been costumed in black? Did
Claudius come across as well as he
would have if Jonathan
James-Moore had not spoken his
lines so rapidly and then exited in a
manner which almost suggested
that he was mad? I think these
things hurt this scene perhaps
fatally and, since just about all of
the costuming was black and white
and many of the actors did speak
their lines (until intermission) as if
they were racing to break a speed
record, the injury extended beyond
this one scene.

I also have grave doubts about
the manner in which Mr. Miller
presents Hamlet's confrontation
with his father's ghost. There was
not a single suggestion of the
supernatural in the scene. It was
played in bright light with Hamlet
and the ghost sitting down and
talking as if they were chatting in a
park. The ghost, played by Andrew
Hilton, seemed too self-pitying and
not thirsty enough for revenge of
his murder.

This brings us to Hamlet
himself. Mr. Miller and Hugh
Thomas' interpretation of this
tragic hero (or is he more of a
non-hero?) was rooted largely in
psychological theories and was
evidently influenced to an extent
by the writings of Freud. It was a
complex characterization. This
Hamlet was not the stereotyped
melancholy Dane; he came across
more like a spoiled child whose
uncle had broken his favorite toy
and now he was going to get even
with the meanie. Whether or not he
loved the toy is insignificant; it was
his.

This Hamlet was a precocious
child, though, often given to
making jest. The Oedipal overtones
were contained within him, and
exploded in the effectively staged
and acted closet scene with
Gertrude. Mr. Thomas was much
stronger as was all the cast in the
last half of the play. He brought the
character into sharper focus and
allowed us to peck inside his
psyche, a privilege which he denied
us earlier. Also, he spoke his lines
with a much greater range of vocal
inflection and pitch after
intermission.