hamlet
by William Shakepeare
directed by Mark Lamos
February 28 - March 17, 2013
Presented by the Resident Ensemble Players,
the professional acting company in residence
at the University of Delaware
RESOURCE GUIDE
Created by Megan M.F. Everhart
IN THIS GUIDE
Cast of Characters
Plot Summary
Why Didn’t Hamlet Become King? – Rules of Succession
Famous Hamlets
Have You Heard This One? – Hamlet in Pop Culture
Discovering Hamlet … the Actor(s) … the Director (and the Company) … the Mystery (Who’s There?)
Set and Costume Designs for the REP’s production of HAMLET
CAST OF CHARACTERS
in the Resident Ensemble Players production of HAMLET
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.....................................................................................................................................Michael Gotch♦*
Claudius, King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle..................................................................................................Stephen Pelinski♦*
Ghost, of Hamlet’s father, the former King of Denmark................................................................................John Rensenhouse*
Gertrude, Queen of Denmark, Hamlet’s mother...........................................................................................Elizabeth Heflin♦*
Polonius, councillor to the king..................................................................................................................................Steve Tague♦*
Laertes, Polonius’ son......................................................................................................................................................Paul Hurley*
Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter...........................................................................................................................................Erin Partin*
Ophelia’s Nurse...........................................................................................................................................Carine Montbertrand♦*
Horatio, Hamlet’s friend and fellow student.......................................................................................................Mic Matarrese♦*
Rosencrantz, former schoolfellow of Hamlet......................................................................................................Andre Martin*
Guildenstern, former schoolfellow of Hamlet....................................................................................................Mark D. Hines*
Francisco, officer of the watch......................................................................................................................................Paul Hurley*
Barnardo, officer of the watch...................................................................................................................................André Martin*
Marcellus, officer of the watch..................................................................................................................................Anand Nagraj*
Player Queen................................................................................................................................................Carine Montbertrand♦*
Player King..........................................................................................................................................................John Rensenhouse*
Traveling troupe of actors.............................................Drumlin Brooke, Paul Hurley*, Mic Matarrese♦*, Neil Redfield
Lucianus, a player........................................................................................................................................................Anand Nagraj*
Grave Diggers................................................................................................................Carine Montbertrand♦*, Steve Tague♦*
Osric, a courtier.............................................................................................................................................................Anand Nagraj*
Footman....................................................................................................................................................Mark Dannenberg Hines*
Ensemble..................................................................Drumlin Brooke, Neil Redfield, Christopher Tahran, Sanjay Pelinski
♦
REP Company Member
*Member of Actors Equity Association
PLOT SUMMARY
The action of the play begins two months after the sudden death of the Danish king, who has been succeeded by his
brother Claudius. Soon after the funeral, Claudius married Gertrude, the dead king’s widow. Hamlet, the dead king’s
son, has returned to the court at Elsinore from his studies. The ghost of his father appears to tell him he was murdered
by Claudius, and asks his son to avenge his death.
Polonius, Claudius’s chief counselor, forbids his daughter Ophelia to see Hamlet. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, two
childhood friends of Hamlet’s, are summoned by Claudius and Gertrude to keep an eye on Hamlet. Ophelia, obeying
her father’s instructions, rejects Hamlet’s advances in an arranged meeting while Polonius and Claudius eavesdrop.
A company of actors arrives at Elsinore. Hamlet asks them to perform a play called The Murder of Gonzago, hoping that
its plot, which bears some similarities to the circumstances of his father’s murder, will force Claudius to reveal his guilt.
After the play, which Claudius interrupts, Hamlet is summoned to his mother’s chamber. He chastises her for her marriage to Claudius and accidentally kills Polonius, who is hiding behind a curtain. Claudius sends Hamlet to England,
planning to have him murdered.
Laertes, Polonius’s son, returns to Denmark from France demanding revenge for his father’s death. Claudius plots with
Laertes to kill Hamlet in a fencing match. Ophelia goes mad, and Gertrude relates the story of her drowning. Hamlet,
having escaped his captors, returns from England and witnesses Ophelia’s funeral. The fencing plot miscarries and
Laertes is killed. Gertrude drinks from a poisoned cup intended for Hamlet and dies. Hamlet, wounded by Laertes’s
poisoned sword, kills Claudius, then dies himself.
Courtesy of the McCarter Theatre www.mccarter.org
WHY DIDN’T HAMLET BECOME KING?
You are probably familiar with the concept of primogeniture – the process by which the eldest child inherits land and
titles on the death of his parent. In fact, primogeniture has been in the news in the past year as the British government
changed long-standing laws that place male children above female children in the line of succession to the English
throne. (Meaning that William and Kate’s child, when it is born, will be the third in line to the throne after Charles and
William—regardless of its gender and the gender of any children who are born after.)
So why didn’t Hamlet succeed to the throne upon his father’s death? Because in the play, Denmark isn’t following the
rules of primogeniture. Instead, the succession was decided by the system of tanistry, defined by Merriam-Webster as:
A … law of succession by which the heir or successor of a chief or king is appointed during the lifetime
of the reigning chief, is not necessarily his oldest son, is generally the worthiest and wisest of the male
relatives of the chief, and is elected by the people from among the eligible candidates …
So, while the Prince of Denmark and a member of the royal family, Hamlet was not the automatic successor.
FAMOUS HAMLETS
Laurence Olivier 1948
Christopher Plummer 1964
Richard Chamberlian 1970
Derek Jacobi 1980
Mel Gibson 1990
Kenneth Branagh 1996
Ethan Hawke 2000
David Tennant 2009
Jude Law 2009
HAVE YOU HEARD THIS ONE?
Shakespeare is everywhere, whether or not you realize it.
More than 400 years after his death, one hears many common phrases that originated with Shakespeare:
A laughing stock (The Merry Wives of Windsor)
A sorry sight (Macbeth)
As dead as a doornail (Henry VI)
Eaten out of house and home (Henry V, Part 2)
Fair play (The Tempest)
I will wear my heart upon my sleeve (Othello)
In a pickle (The Tempest)
In stitches (Twelfth Night)
In the twinkling of an eye (The Merchant of Venice)
Mum’s the word (Henry VI, Part 2)
Neither here nor there (Othello)
Send him packing (Henry IV)
Set your teeth on edge (Henry IV)
Too much of a good thing (As You Like It)
Vanish into thin air (Othello)
Naturally, Hamlet also has its share of sayings that have made their way into literature, film and television. And it’s not
all scholarly and serious. References to Hamlet can be found in pop culture, children’s TV shows, Facebook, cartoons
and even financial advice.
O that this too too solid flesh would melt, (Hamlet, Act I, scene 2)
Cyrano: … and finally, with tragic cries and sighs,
The language finely wrought and deeply felt:
“Oh that this too too solid nose would melt.”
That is the sort of thing you could have said
If you, Sir Moron, were a man of letter
Or had an ounce of spunk inside your head.
from Edmund Rostand’s Cyrano de Bergerac, translated by Anthony Burgess (1985)
Frailty, thy name is woman (Hamlet, Act I, scene 2)
Willoughby: Frailty, thy name is Brandon!
from the film adaptation of Jane Austin’s Sense and Sensibility, written by Emma Thomspson (1995)
In my mind’s eye (Hamelt, Act I, scene 2)
“Lord save us!” exclaimed the old lady, starting; “don’t talk in that way, child. You’re weak and nervous after your
illness. Let me wheel your chair round to the other side; and then you won’t see it. There!” said the old lady,
suiting the action to the word; “you don’t see it now, at all events.” Oliver did see it in his mind’s eye as distinctly as if he had not altered his position; but he thought it better not to worry the kind old lady; so he smiled
gently when she looked at him …
from Oliver Twist by Charles Dickons (1837-1839)
Like Tessie, Milton’s mind was searching the bottom drawer of his desk, in particular a fat envelope containing
the three fire insurance policies from separate companies. He saw them in his mind’s eye; he read the fire indemnity coverage, and added them up.
from Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides, Jeffrey (2002)
Neither a borrower nor a lender be (Polonius, Act I scene 3)
Neither a borrower nor a lender be
from Poor Richard’s Almanac by Benjamin Frankiln
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark. (Marcellus, Act I, scene 4)
Leela: Something is rotten on the planet Wormulon.
from Futurama: Fry and the Slurm Factory (Season 2; episode 4)
by Matt Groening, David X. Cohen, Justin Adler, Matt Karis, and Lewis Morton (1999)
Something Rotten In The Facebook Status
---Horatio thinks he saw a ghost.
Hamlet thinks it’s annoying when your uncle marries your mother right after your dad dies.
The king thinks Hamlet’s annoying.
Laertes thinks Ophelia can do better.
Hamlet’s father is now a zombie.
---The king poked the queen.
The queen poked the king back.
Hamlet and the queen are no longer friends.
Marcellus is pretty sure something’s rotten around here.
Hamlet became a fan of daggers.
---Polonius says Hamlet’s crazy ... crazy in love!
Rosencrantz, Guildenstern, and Hamlet are now friends.
Hamlet wonders if he should continue to exist. Or not.
Hamlet thinks Ophelia might be happier in a convent.
Ophelia removed “moody princes” from her interests.
Hamlet posted an event: A Play That’s Totally Fictional and In No Way About My Family
The king commented on Hamlet’s play: “What is wrong with you?”
Polonius thinks this curtain looks like a good thing to hide behind.
Polonius is no longer online.
---Hamlet added England to the Places I’ve Been application.
The queen is worried about Ophelia.
Ophelia loves flowers. Flowers flowers flowers flowers flowers. Oh, look, a river.
Ophelia joined the group Maidens Who Don’t Float.
Laertes wonders what the hell happened while he was gone.
---The king sent Hamlet a goblet of wine.
The queen likes wine!
The king likes ... oh crap.
The queen, the king, Laertes, and Hamlet are now zombies.
Horatio says well that was tragic.
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway, says yes, tragic. We’ll take it from here.
Denmark is now Norwegian.
Hamlet (Facebook News Feed Edition) by Sarah Schmelling,
originally published by McSweeney’s (2008) National Public Radio feature, October 2, 2010
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=130265532
Brevity is the soul of wit. (Polonius, Act II, scene 2)
I got into the car where I had lost my virginity the night before and opened the envelope. There was a single
sheet of paper inside. Brevity is the soul of wit, according to Shakespeare. If it’s true, then Carol’s letter was
witty as hell.
from Hearts in Atlantis by Stephen King (2001)
Though this be madness, yet there is method in’t (Polonius, Act II, scene 2)
I may play a total madman on TV, but I’m really just a very unbalanced guy at home. However, when it comes
to stocks, I believe in being rigorous and methodical, not crazy. There’s no madness to my method. If you want
to watch Mad Money and then turn around and make yourself a fortune, you have to understand that method.
You have to know what to watch for - which observations are significant and which ones aren’t.
from Jim Cramer’s Mad Money (2006)
The play’s the thing Wherein I’ll catch the conscience of the king. (Hamlet, Act II, scene 2)
Star Trek: The Conscience of the King features a production of Hamlet.
The plot also involves the search for truth when an actor is accused of being a mass murderer.
written by Barry Trivers and Gene Roddenberry (Season 1; episode 13) (1966)
To be, or not to be, that is the question (Hamlet, Act III, scene 1)
“But you’re dead”, said Harry. “Oh, yes”, said Dumbledore matter of factly. “Then...I’m dead too?” “Ah,” said Dumbledore, smiling still more broadly. “That is the question, isn’t it?
from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling (2007)
To be or not to be
Not
Hold Up, bring the beat back
Stop, I ain’t ready yet
Wait, let me fix my hair (yes, yes)
Yes mam (yes mam) Yes
from Freakum Dress by Beyoncé, written by Beyoncé, Rich Harrison, and Makeba Riddick on b’Day (2006)
Bugs Bunny: 2B or not 2B? That is the question.
William Shakespeare and Witch Hazel argue over whether she had given him the correct apartment number (2B)
when he came calling on her years ago. The cartoon closes with Bugs Bunny addressing the audience: “2B or not
2B? That is the question.”
Bugs Bunny: A Witch’s Tangled Hare Warner Bros./Looney Toons (1959)
Gee thee to a nunnery. (Hamlet, Act III, scene 1)
Hamlet: Get thee to a library, Elmo.
The Muppets and Sesame Street’s take on Masterpiece Theatre features Cookie Monster as your host Alistair
Cookie, and Hamlet (Mel Gibson) and Elmo in a sketch about the emotional impact of reading and words. “Get
thee to a library, Elmo,” Hamlet advises.
From Sesame Street: Monsterpiece Theater (1993)
The lady doth protest too much, methinks. (Gertrude, Act III, scene 2)
[Marge:] Oh boy, am I beat. If you wanna return a melon to the grocery store, clear your day.
[Homer:] Well, that answers the mystery of the missing melon. But I have one more question. Did you sleep
with Kirk Van Houten?
[Marge (gasping):] How could you ask me that?
[Homer:] I repeat, did you sleep with Kirk?
[Marge:] Homer, you’re crazy!
[Homer:] You’re not saying “no”.
[Marge:] Fine. No!
[Homer:] I’m still not hearing “no”.
[Marge:] No. No. No!
[Homer:] Well, methinks the lady doth protest too much.
From The Simpsons: Milhouse of Sand and Fog (season 17, epsidoe 3)
by Matt Groening, Steven Dean Moore and Patric M. Verrone (2005)
You, you’re “doth protesting,” like, way too much.
T-Shirt design on Café Press
http://www.cafepress.com/mf/16481116/youre-doth-protesting-like-ash-grey_tshirt
Now cracks a noble heart. Good night sweet prince. (Horation, Act I, scene 2)
Walter Sobchak (standing on a cliff ): And so, Theodore Donald Kerabatsos, in accordance with what we think
your dying wishes might well have been, we commit your final mortal remains to the bosom of the Pacific
Ocean... which you loved so well. (opens the lid of the big coffee can containing Donny’s ashes) Good night,
sweet prince (scatters the ashes).
From The Big Lebowski by Ethan Coen and Joel Coen (1998)
I must be cruel, only to be kind. (Hamlet,Act III, scene 4)
Cruel to be kind in the right measure
Cruel to be kind it’s a very good sign
Cruel to be kind means that I love you
Baby, got to be cruel, you got to be cruel to be kind
from Cruel to Be Kind 1979 hit by Nick Lowe on the 200 Cigarettes soundtrack
Alas, poor Yorick. I knew him Horatio, a fellow of infinite jest, of most excellent fancy (Hamlet, Act V, scene 1)
Davie: “Any pain?” I asked hopefully.
Alan: “Naw... they goat drugs... jist ma breathin...” I held his hand and felt a twinge of amusement as his pathetic, bony fingers squeezed tightly. I thought I was going to laugh in his skeletal face as his tired eyes kept
shutting. Alas poor Alan, I knew him Nurse. He was a wanker, an infinite pest. I watched, stifling smirks, as he
groped for breath.
From the novel Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh (1996)
Chewbacca (Peter Mayhew) tries to reassemble the droid C-3PO’s body while imprisoned in Cloud City. At one
point, Chewbacca holds C-3PO’s head in much the same way that Hamlet is traditionally depicted as holding
Yorick’s skull.
From The Empire Strikes Back,
written by Leigh Brackett, Lawrence Kasdan, and George Lucas (1980)
“This above all: to thine own self be true” Hamlet quote (Act I, scene 3)
Heather: It’s just like Hamlet said, to thine own self be true!
Cher: Hamlet didn’t say that.
Heather: I think that I remember Hamlet accurately.
Cher: Well, I remember Mel Gibson accurately, and he didn’t say that. That Polonius guy did.
from Clueless written by Amy Heckerling (1995)
That Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are dead (First Ambassador, Act V; scene ii)
Harold and Kumar are neighbors of “Rosenberg and Goldstein”, a mockery of Rosencrantz & Guildenstern.
from Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, written by Jon Hurwitz and Hayden Schlossberg (2004)
Visit http://hamletiseverywhere.comuf.com or http://www.hyperhamlet.unibas.ch/ for more great examples of Hamlet
references.
DISCOVERING HAMLET
… the ACTOR(S) … the DIRECTOR (AND THE COMPANY) … the MYSTERY (WHO’S THERE?)
… the Actor(s)
“Character is a function of what people do, not what they say,” according to Michael Gotch, who plays the title
character in the REP production of Hamlet. Of course, this is Shakespeare, and quite a bit of what Hamlet does IS what
he says, with seven major soliloquies in the script.
How then does the actor go beyond the “saying” into the “doing” in creating one of theatre’s most exacting and
enigmatic dramatic roles?
According to director Mark Lamos, the actor playing Hamlet needs “Intelligence. He needs to think outside and inside
the part and have an understanding of the poetry … really, you need someone whose chops are extraordinary.” Lamos
should know. Early in his career he also played Hamlet, in a notable production directed by Jack O’Brien at San Diego’s
Old Globe Theatre. Lamos has also directed the tragedy twice before, including the acclaimed 1987 Hartford Stage
production starring Richard Thomas.
In putting a Hamlet veteran like Lamos in the same rehearsal space as an accomplished actor like Gotch, the REP risked
setting up an ego clash the scope of a Shakespearean tragedy.
Proving that great risk is often greatly rewarding, the two seasoned professionals met in the rehearsal space and set
up an amazing partnership of actor and director, a symbiotic relationship where each finds inspiration in the other.
And actually, the relationship began before the rehearsal process started. Gotch and Lamos have been corresponding
since the REP season was announced and Gotch learned he had been cast in the role. And while Lamos brings insight
and experience to the process, both are focused on finding Gotch’s interpretation, the “Michael Gotch Hamlet.”
“I’m giving him guidelines,” Lamos says, “but not telling him to play it the way I played it. That would be impossible.
No two Hamlets are ever the same. In directing Michael I’m trying to release him into his own energies and persona
through the role.”
“Being older now, I have more insights, and my maturity has brought a lot to bear on understanding the play in a
deeper and richer way,” Lamos continues. Deeper and richer, yet open. “I’m inspired by the actors, and I love working
with actors who bring so much to exploring the process. I’m so inspired by watching Michael that I get new ideas
about the role that I find tremendously enriching.”
Older dancers and opera singers sometimes pass down a role to a younger star, but in theatre the experience is a rare
one. With the decline of resident theatre companies throughout the country, most actors are hired in per performance,
with the result that every production is brand new.
As a PTTP graduate and member of the REP, Gotch has experienced more continuity than many actors, but even for
him the experience has been unique in his career. “To have someone who has attacked the role as an actor and a
director, and to have him be honest about his experience, it’s rare,” he says. “I trust Mark, and it feels almost like playing
the role with him. He is part of this performance. He’s shaping what I can bring to the table…
… the Director (and the company)
…and he knows what will be best for the story.” Hamlet isn’t just about the character of Hamlet or what the actor
playing Hamlet wants it to be. “It is every character in the play coming together to tell the story of the ‘tragedy of the
prince of Denmark,’” Gotch says.
A full, uncut version of Hamlet can run up to 5 hours, too long for modern theatre audiences to appreciate, let alone sit
through. Cutting the script is an art form just as much as directing the play or acting a character are, and even in the
quintessential 1948 film version, Laurence Olivier didn’t get to say all the famous lines.
And Lamos, who has directed more than 30 productions of Shakespeare’s work, is the perfect choice for crafting a
tight, swiftly moving Hamlet. Just as he does working with Gotch’s characterization, Lamos sees this Hamlet as the
chance to do something better and deeper than what he’s done before. “It’s a hard play to say ‘no’ to,” Lamos says, “ and
I said yes because I know it’s going to be both humbling and incredibly enriching, and a challenge. Because no matter
how well you did it last time, you can get it better. I know Hamlet so well, that I knew I would be able to build on that. I
love finding a new way of saying something.”
Hamlet is a ghost story, a lurid tale of incest, a murder mystery, a political thriller and a love story, all with comic
elements thrown in. And this version keeps all of those elements. “What’s great about Mark’s cut is that everything
is there; just tightened up. This cut is tight, concise, and energetic, and it moves with a drive and momentum,” Gotch
says.
Working with a company like the REP makes the process easier to navigate, too. “There is an atmosphere here that I
find very powerful and positive,” Lamos says. “The actors support each other and work together. I see them giving each
other the space to explore, not exercising their ego over someone else’s. That unity of purpose is why I like working
here.”
Lamos made his first visit here in 2006, when he directed Peter Pan, the company’s inaugural production in the
Thompson Theatre.
There is also a benefit to working with a repertory company, as Lamos knows from his years in the company of the
Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis. “It is exciting and comforting to work with the same actors year in and year out,” he
says. “It makes all the actors’ muscles supple and firm, and it gives them a lot of confidence in their work.”
… the Mystery (Who’s there?)
That confidence is a requirement for Hamlet, as the actor playing him must open himself up to self-exploration. “No
other Shakespeare role that I’ve ever played has been so shiftable, changeable and malleable to the actor playing it
as this character is. It really calls for something in the actor playing it,” Gotch says. “I can’t try to reach Hamlet in some
unreachable place, but realize that it’s inside of me and I just need to be open to it.”
Everything in Hamlet is a mystery, from the opening line: Who’s there? “That line is both suspenseful and psychological,”
Lamos says. “The entire play is a series of questions, misperceptions, and trying to understand what’s illusory and
what’s real.” Hamlet himself appears to be mad, or is he really? He uses the players and the illusion of the theatre to
discover the truth of his father’s death.
“The mystery of Hamlet is not to be solved, ever, by a company of actors and a director, but explored,” Lamos says.
“Mystery is a great and powerful part of the experience of Hamlet, and audiences revel in that mystery.”
“There is something uncanny about Hamlet that you mold yourself to,” Gotch adds. “You mold yourself to it and it
molds itself to you. The role shapes to you without losing its own integrity.”
Lamos understands and embraces that mystery, and the exploration, and extends that to the cast. “He is very generous
in the room with allowing the actors to do what their instinct tells them is right for the scene. He never stifles that
instinct by burdening the actor with too much direction before he’s even taken a crack at it. He gives me whatever he
knows about the role, without making it an edict. He doesn’t say, ‘it has to be done this way,’” Gotch says.
Which all means that audiences experience the mystery of not just Shakespeare’s classic tragic tale, but also the ‘REP
Hamlet,’ the ‘Michael Gotch Hamlet’ and the journey of Hamlet that is inside all of us.
—
Megan M.F. Everhart
SET AND COSTUME DESIGNS FOR THE REP’S
PRODUCTION OF HAMLET
THE SET
designed by Alexander Dodge
With universal themes of human existence and enduring relevance to modern life, Shakespeare’s works are often
set in different time periods (such as Ian McKellen’s 1995 Richard III, set in 1930s England, and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996
Romeo + Juliet, set in modern-day Verona.)
For the REP’s production, director Mark Lamos and set desiger Alexander Dodge worked to create a design that would
provide a psychological space for exploring the play’s themes of mystery, illusion, intrigue, and secrets.
HAMLET set design by Alexander Dodge.
HAMLET set design by Alexander Dodge.
Mr. Dodge found inspiration in the sculptual boxes created by artist Louise Nevelson.
Louise Nevelson (September 23, 1899 – April 17, 1988) is one of the most important figures in 20th-century American
sculpture. Nevelson’s work is known for large, monochromatic, wooden walls and outdoor sculptures. The pieces
were usually created out of wood and resemble giant puzzles, with multiple intricately cut pieces giving them a 3-D
effect. A unique feature of her work is that her figures are often painted in monochromatic black or white.
The REP’s set is created out of over 350 boxes made of plywood and pine. Over 1,000 hours went into building the
boxes and then attaching them together to form the 21-foot walls of the HAMLET set.
More information on Lousie Nevelson can be found at www.louisenevelsonfoundation.org.
THE COSTUMES
designed by Fabio Toblini
While the set for the REP’s production of HAMLET may seem abstract and mysterious, the costumes,
designed by Fabio Toblini and seen in the renderings below, are inspired by Elizabethian styles. “I felt the
costumes would complement Alexander’s set well,” says Mr. Toblini. “They look soft and flowing and create a
lyrical and classic look.”
Hamlet
Claudius
Gertrude
Ghost
Ophelia
Polonius
Osric
Rosencrantz
Guildenstern