Road to Hamlet: Discovering Hamlet (1990)
This summer, thousands of us Cumberfans will descend upon London to see Benedict Cumberbatch in Hamlet. This is, of course, terribly exciting for all of us! Some are seeing Benedict live for the first time ever. Many of us are theatre novices. And then there’s the play: Hamlet. Probably Shakespeare’s most famous play. Maybe you’re already fairly familiar with the bard’s work. Or maybe you’ve just picked up a copy of the famous play and were quite taken aback by how complex it all sounds, by how different the language appears to be from modern English. I myself went through quite a Shakespeare phase in my teens but still find the prospect of three hours of Shakespearean English daunting. And so I plan to do what I always do: I over prepare. In the next few weeks I will be looking at different secondary materials that might help us find a way to access and become more comfortable with Shakespeare in general and Hamlet in particular. If nothing else, I hope that these books, DVDs and apps might be able to get us into a Hamlet mood.
First up: the DVD Discovering Hamlet (1990), with Derek Jacobi (Director) and Kenneth Branagh (Hamlet). The DVD is available on Amazon UK and a bit cheaper on Amazon US (if you can work with Region 1 DVDs).
This is a rather fascinating look at a 90s stage production of Hamlet with Kenneth Branagh in the lead role and Derek Jacobi (who has played the Danish prince several times) as director. Although the DVD does not include the play itself, it’s worth a look because it shows the rehearsal process and how a play is being put together. I know next to nothing about theatre, so was captivated by how the director shapes the play during rehearsals. Benedict’s Hamlet has just entered this phase of the project and it gives you some idea of what he might be up to at the moment. Derek Jacobi is particularly hands on as director as he is an actor himself and really gets swept up by the action on stage. It was interesting to see that even a week before opening night Branagh still felt daunted by the part. The main feature leading us through the rehearsal process is only 50 minutes long but the behind the scenes interviews and very detailed bonus rehearsal footage let us go quite a bit deeper. I got particularly excited by the sword fight choreography on the bonus disc, as I’m a sucker for a good sword fight. The Hamlet production we will get to see will probably differ quite a bit from this one. Nevertheless, it’s an enjoyable trip backstage and an interesting look at the rehearsal process.
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