Cut to pieces, and reshaped, making this their very own version of Hamlet, which isn't unusual, and delivers in spades.
I particularly loved the setting, using the theatre in a very interesting way, not on stage, not really, but quite literally all over the theatre, including the box office, wash rooms, the roof, and backstage. It does take a little getting used to, as does Ian playing Hamlet in this production, in addition to other reportedly "blind" casting choices, and there's no doubt the audience won't be blind to these choices for the most part, but thankfully, upon settling in it's less problematic than it could have been. It does however feel a bit strange, aspects of which have made it difficult for me to rate it higher than a 8/10, mainly because it does make it a little difficult to completely immerse yourself in the story, on account of noticing all these things.
This may not be quite so challenging on the stage, but everything is rather up close here, as such the "blind" casting approach doesn't lend itself so well to film in this case. It's helpful to remember that when this was first performed, a great many years ago, women were played by men, as such much of this stuff is par for the course in many respects, however some of these choices just don't lend themselves to the big screen as much as they might a stage production.
It is however great in all other respects!
I particularly loved the setting, using the theatre in a very interesting way, not on stage, not really, but quite literally all over the theatre, including the box office, wash rooms, the roof, and backstage. It does take a little getting used to, as does Ian playing Hamlet in this production, in addition to other reportedly "blind" casting choices, and there's no doubt the audience won't be blind to these choices for the most part, but thankfully, upon settling in it's less problematic than it could have been. It does however feel a bit strange, aspects of which have made it difficult for me to rate it higher than a 8/10, mainly because it does make it a little difficult to completely immerse yourself in the story, on account of noticing all these things.
This may not be quite so challenging on the stage, but everything is rather up close here, as such the "blind" casting approach doesn't lend itself so well to film in this case. It's helpful to remember that when this was first performed, a great many years ago, women were played by men, as such much of this stuff is par for the course in many respects, however some of these choices just don't lend themselves to the big screen as much as they might a stage production.
It is however great in all other respects!