On Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) esp Hamlet...?

Question

a few questions:

1.do they use the original texts or they change the language to the modern english (i mean ENG used nowadays) ?

2.what about costumes? do they wear modern-day clothes? (i seem to read it somewhere, but i'm not sure!)

3.does the RSC capture the performance on tape, so that it could be sold (e.g on DVD) later?? (like what is done for live concerts...)

i mean, there are always so many people who would like to go see the play, but they can't! ( one reason: they live in a country other than the UK & US !)

YEAH, YOU GUESSED RIGHT!!

I'M ALMOST DEPRESSED THAT I CAN'T GO SEE "David Tennant" AS HAMLET... :'(

He's such a great actor! :D

any kinda help's appericiated!!

Answer 1

1) Original scripts/texts are used...sometimes parts/texts can be conflated in consideration of time or process or vision...seen often with the history plays, especially the "Henry VIs" and with plays with multiple sources (i.e. quarto vs. Folio of "Hamlet").

2) Modern dress, Elizabethan, stylized or not, different period costumes - all are used - it depends on the director's intent and the 'vision' of the piece. (For example, the wondrous history cycle started out in stylized early Renaissance, then Elizabethan and moved through all 8 plays to come out modern by "Richard III.") The current "Hamlet" is in modern dress.

3) The RSC records all of their performances in a very simple, set camera format for research purposes...I've seen many of these tapes (they are available to students and theatre/college professionals through the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust which holds the RSC's archives in Stratford-upon-Avon) and they are not of the greatest quality...the RSC's official take on this is that they consider theatre to be 'in the moment' and therefore not recordable...that is true in many regards, but it is also true that more tickets get sold this way...bully for them, I guess.

I hope they release this 'Hamlet' on a polished DVD for mass sales...I had a ticket for it but I had to come home unexpectedly to the U.S. ...so it goes...

Answer 2

1. Original text (it's the RSC! :))

2. Modern day clothes (very modern day, Hamlet in jeans and a t-shirt)

3. RSC captures all its plays on tape for its archive, but this is not for commercial use and it's largely a taped performance but with no extra work to accommodate the different medium. Occasionally, they adapt plays for film, they have done this with last year's King Lear (which will be shown on tv and released on dvd). No decision has been made for Hamlet.

If you have the means to get to the theatre early on the day of the performance, you can queue for a returned ticket. Long queues and long wait, you have to be prepared to queue for hours but it's fun.

Answer 3

PolyDD is correct, and I would love to see it as well. I really hope they make a commercial release of this one. With two well known stars like David Tennant and Patrick Stewart in it, I would have thought it would be a prime candidate.