Okokokokok!!! What an interesting controversy this is!
Apparently, a man in Russia is suing the Academy Drama Theatre for their production of “Hamlet,” claiming that no one warned him it would be such a deviation from the original “Hamlet that he was expecting to see. The man was particularly shocked and angered by the raping of Ophelia and the singing of the gravediggers in the production, as well as the several scenes that appeared in the production that are not a part of the original “Hamlet.”
And I do have to say… although I think legal action is a bit excessive, I do think he’s right. Or.. well, I don’t know! I think he’s right at least. Or rather, I think this theatre company is doing a real disservice to themselves. While the re-imagining of classic works like “Hamlet” is both something that happens ALLLLLL the time, and something that I personally think necessary to keep our relationship to Shakespeare fresh, there is something really important about a theatre company defining themselves. Although we, as theatre artists, mostly take it upon ourselves to research the shows we are going to see (or we’ve at least usually heard something about the show), it’s hard to remember that not everyone who sees theatre does that. Although I don’t believe it should be a requirement, I think theatre companies alienate a lot of potential supporters by not clearly explaining what might occur in their productions. Not that pages and pages of explanations are required, but a blurb saying that this production was an adaptation could have probably helped this man a lot!
This is really useful for me in defining my own work. You never know who you might offend — and although it may not always be your fault, there are always steps we can make to be sure that we don’t surprise the people who don’t ever want to be surprised.
