“This play is a celebration of women breaking free from the spaces where they’ve been muted, finally claiming their place on the stage – in defiance, in solidarity and in power. “
Julia Newbould
4 Stars
Venue KXT
Sydney
Dates: Until March 29
Something is rotten in the state of Denmark – and according to New Zealand playwright Jean Betts – it’s all these fucking men!
And that is the story of Ophelia thinks harder in a nutshell. It’s Hamlet reimagined with Ophelia thinking more about her role as a woman – something she never asked for and isn’t coping with. It’s Hamlet without the dithering and listening to ghosts but instead taking on the role of a spoilt misogynist whose struggle to control his carnal urges towards Ophelia has turned him into a belittling bully.
Betts is a talented playwright. Even though the play is long – 150 mins with interval –it’s tightly written with many laughs, smart lines and mashups of other Shakespeare. Ophelia thinks harder – as a feminist response to Shakespeare’s Hamlet – was written in 1993 when Betts was a founding member of WOPPA (Women’s Professional Playwrights Association) set up to celebrate NZ’s centenary of women’s suffrage with a group of new plays by women.
The play enjoys borrowing from many other sources. English poet AE Houseman has a special mention in the play with his piece, The laws of God, the laws of man.“The laws of God, the laws of man, He may keep that will and can; Not I: let God and man decree Laws for themselves and not for me; And if my ways are not as theirs Let them mind their own affairs. Their deeds I judge and much condemn, Yet when did I make laws for them?”
There are snippets of Shakespearean sonnets – I recognised references to Romeo and Juliet, Taming of the Shrew, The Tempest, and A Midsummer Nights’ Dream. A Shakespearean scholar may have recognised more. Joan of Arc appears in the play as a ghost to empower Ophelia. There’s some Billy Joel, Only the good die young, performed by the actors led by the very talented actor/musician Zachary Aleksander.
The second act starts with actors singing The Lumineers’ Ophelia – they joke about being entertainers and debating what the point of theatre is – is it to please theatregoers, is it to put bums on seats, or is it to explore important themes in society? It’s a most pertinent question today.
Co-producer Jade Fuda described Ophelia as raw, passionate and ferociously unafraid to think, speak, and act. “This play is a celebration of women breaking free from the spaces where they’ve been muted, finally claiming their place on the stage – in defiance, in solidarity and in power.” Ophelia is played by Brea Macey. Brea was the understudy until a recent illness sidelined Fuda who was slated to take the lead. Brea was stunning in the role, one where she appeared onstage for the majority of the performance. Her performance was brash and bright, and her lines delivered with great timing and passion. Hamlet (Shaw Cameron), was played as a private school bully boy. His smartarse delivery of lines, his confidence, his demeanour – were all familiar to many in the audience, and even a little triggering at times. His Shakespeare was clear, and his powerful delivery would have effectively played to a larger stage. Eleni Cassimatis, as the maid, was clearly Shakespearean-trained. Her delivery was a delight – it was clear and natural. Gertrude was played by Lucy Miller, a versatile actor who I last saw in The Female of the Species. She inhabited her role through stunning outfits and a sense of vulnerability masked by haughtiness, able to be humorous as well as powerful and damning.
In the beginning, Ophelia is draped in black, still mourning her mother’s death two years earlier. Her father Polonius is keen for her to lose the weeds and move into something colourful. The Queen is also keen for her to get out of mourning and make herself ready to wed her son. Polonius doesn’t like the way Hamlet treats his daughter and he wants her to stay away. But she loves him – or according to her maid – has a burning in her chest because of the way he humiliates her and makes her feel.
Ophelia thinks harder is a fracturing of Shakespeare’s play. The women have bigger roles, and some newly assumed roles – Rosencrantz (Hannah Raven) and Guildenstern (Julie Bettens) – are women. I found them appealing characters as women, adding a sharpness to the play. For me, they were better than the original. They pose as men to get into business they couldn’t otherwise penetrate. Gertrude is a feminist queen who didn’t want Hamlet to assume the throne of her late husband, one whom she conspired against for good reasons. She is forthright in putting him in his place. Joan of Arc appears to pass a message to Ophelia warning her of an impending invasion of the country.
It is the women who have the power. Director Alex Kendall Robson said the play still catches him off guard, despite reading it countless times. “There are lines that make me laugh out loud, and others that punch me right in the gut. It’s wild,” he said. Similarly, I felt many laughs with Hamlet in the first half of the play, but before the end of the first half many of the laughs were replaced by disapproval and disgust at his behaviour. In this climate of coercive behaviour and violence against women, this retelling of Hamlet was somewhat confronting. Special mention must be made to Robson’s costume choices – it was beautiful to watch.
This is another success for KXT, a little theatre punching far above its weight.
Four garlands of flowers
Photos by Phil Erbacher
Julia Newbould, Theatre Now
