{"id":2164,"date":"2019-11-14T16:47:33","date_gmt":"2019-11-14T21:47:33","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www-chris.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/news\/?p=2164"},"modified":"2021-08-04T16:58:36","modified_gmt":"2021-08-04T20:58:36","slug":"get-thee-to-a-nunnery-and-by-a-nunnery-i-mean-the-dawson-theatre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www-chris.dawsoncollege.qc.ca\/news\/get-thee-to-a-nunnery-and-by-a-nunnery-i-mean-the-dawson-theatre\/","title":{"rendered":"Get Thee To A Nunnery, And By A Nunnery I Mean The Dawson Theatre"},"content":{"rendered":"

An Interview With Cast Members Of The Bad Hamlet<\/h2>\n

By Julia Bifulco, The Plant
\n\"The_Plant_logo_black\"<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Singing, sword fighting, and more surprises: the three S\u2019s of The Bad Hamlet . \u201cIt\u2019s just an alternate text of the same Hamlet that everyone knows,\u201d says Jake Cohen, who will be playing Hamlet, \u201cbut a lot crazier\u201d than the longest tragedy written by William Shakespeare. Directed by St\u00e9phane Zarov, The Bad Hamlet is on at Dawson from Nov. 13 – Nov. 23.<\/p>\n

Costumes and props on set are \u201ca mix of both\u201d Elizabethan and modern design, says Vanessa Aparicio, who is also playing Hamlet but in an all-female cast. \u201cHamlet\u2019s gonna pull out his phone at some point,\u201d says Boris Kirimidtchiev, who will be portraying Horatio, \u201cand the king is wearing a Hugo Boss suit.\u201d The cast members agree that \u201cthere are a lot of anachronisms\u201d in their play, meaning that items will appear in a time period that isn\u2019t their own; in this case, 21st century objects in an Elizabethan setting.<\/p>\n

Each year, the third-year students of the professional theatre program at Dawson put on a performance of a Shakespeare play, alternating yearly between a comedy and a tragedy. Regarding the choice of play, Elisa Belle, who will be playing Gertrude the queen, claims \u201cthey don\u2019t let us in on the secrets.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the cast members, Zarov \u201cdefinitely chose a challenging one,\u201d but all agree that they are pleased with the work they are doing.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have music, we have onstage combat\u2014it\u2019s never gonna be boring,\u201d Cohen assures. Both casts are performing a shorter version of Hamlet <\/em>, which runs for an hour and 40 minutes, as opposed to the original script, which has a four-hour-long runtime.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s all the interesting parts,\u201d Cohen says. Belle confirms that their version is \u201cunedited, so it\u2019s shorter to begin with.\u201d<\/p>\n

Aparicio, lead actress of the all-female cast, states that many scenes for both casts are \u201csimilar,\u201d but they have \u201cdifferent blockings,\u201d as well as \u201cways that [characters] interact with each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cohen confirms that both casts rehearse separately, performing diverse versions of the play. \u201cIf you come by on one night and enjoy yourself, you know that if you come back another night, you\u2019re getting a new thing,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Casts don\u2019t watch one another\u2019s rehearsals: \u201cboth of our interpretations are very much our own,\u201d says Belle. \u201cOne is a lot more comedic, and one is a lot darker,\u201d Aparicio remarks, but cast members will not reveal which one is which. If one were to watch the play twice, they would get two very different experiences.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s something that kind of happened naturally,\u201d says Aparicio of the development of the all-female cast. The program already consists of more women than men, and when the two casts were formed, originally, one had only two male actors, so Zarov decided to make it fully female.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven to this day there are productions that are put on with all-male casts,\u201d Belle says, just like it was in Elizabethan times, \u201cSince this play is already turned on its head, it would be cool to inverse that idea.\u201d Cast members agree.<\/p>\n

\u201cShakespeare is very hard to read when you\u2019re just looking at it,\u201d Belle says, \u201cand I think seeing a show, especially this one, is very visual and is a great way to introduce yourself to Shakespeare.\u201d She hopes that students who watch their show \u201cend up understanding it and having a newer appreciation for it.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI feel like it\u2019s very accessible,\u201d Cohen agrees, \u201cIf you aren\u2019t into Shakespeare, a clown\u2019s gonna come on, someone\u2019s gonna fight someone\u2014whatever your relationship to Shakespeare is, there\u2019s something for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

The cast members aim to \u201cappeal to the 80 per cent,\u201d according to Aparicio, meaning those who \u201cunderstand Shakespeare a little bit more\u201d but the other 20 per cent are definitely not neglected in this performance. Aparicio confirms that it is fast-paced and action-packed enough to hold everyone\u2019s interest: \u201cit\u2019s Hamlet <\/em>on running shoes\u2014literally, we\u2019re all in running shoes on stage.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt opens a lot of people\u2019s minds when it comes to Shakespeare,\u201d Kirimidtchiev remarks of the play. Prior to joining the program, he felt a degree of separation to Shakespearian characters: \u201cThey were a bunch of aristocrats that spoke beautifully, and I was a completely different human.\u201d Thanks to the anachronisms, Kirimidtchiev believes that they are able to draw a link between Shakespearian characters and the modern audience: \u201cYou\u2019re not gonna feel drawn away from them,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is the first time that this edition of the text is being performed in Montreal,\u201d Cohen points out, \u201cwhich is rare for a Shakespeare play.\u201d If you\u2019d like to be a part of history and see the first ever performance of this edition of Hamlet <\/em>in Montreal, go to the Dawson Theatre from November 13 -23! Don\u2019t forget your running shoes (and your skulls\u2014alas, poor Yorick!).<\/p>\n\n