Hamlet verdict: Wow

I just lost my Hamlet virginity as an audience member at Fools for Tragedy's performance of In My Mind's Eye, a production of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy at Bay View's Alchemist Theatre.

I've read the play before and am familiar with it, but never before this have I seen a live production. I was blown away. On another day I might lament how this is a reflection of the emotional impoverishment of my life to this point; but today, now, I will simply state my joy at experiencing the artistic conversion of the darkest of human emotions and direst of relational predicaments into a story that resonates with the core of our humanity.

I was amazed at the pure human emotion channeled.

I write not as a drama critic, but as a human being, that this was a tremendous show.

This edit of the play divides Hamlet's psyche into multiple characters portrayed by actors and actresses who divy up his lines. When multiple fragments of the psyche were present on stage, a balance was achieved that both respected the writer's language and served to multiply Hamlet's power with respect to the other characters. I was most impressed with the actress who portrays Hamlet the Fool, Jennifer Gaul, for her sheer unhingedness. Binding it all together was Jordan Gwiazdowski, Mad Hamlet, who was spellbinding and also directed the performance.

More information about the show is found below.

http://www.alchemisttheatre.com/index.cfm?fuse=viewShow&showId=149
http://fools4tragedy.weebly.com/index.html