On April 12, Hamilton College will host its second mainstage production of the academic year with the performance of

Hamlet

, by William Shakespeare.

In a culture dominated by superhero franchises and incessant remakes and spin-offs, one could mistakenly assume that there is little to gain by participating in the centuries-old tradition of staging perhaps one of the most famous plays ever. Yet, when audience members fill their seats next Thursday night, Hamilton College’s production of

Hamlet

should have a refreshingly modern feel. Costume, lighting, sound, and set designs for the production all boast nods to modern culture with the lone exception being the play’s language.

Hamlet’s

intricate linguistic construction should not impede audience members’ ability to surmise plot and character emotion, and enjoy the production. Director Mark Cryer, in reference to the play’s language and characters notes explained, “Within this single play are dozens of phrases, lines, words that are part of our daily lexicon that go unattributed to the Bard and the play

Hamlet

. Moreover, we see a student-aged Hamlet struggle with death and loss, choices, betrayal, friends and family and how they all impact the sudden death of his father, the most important, influential person in his life.” Cryer believes that as long as actors are aggressively pursuing interesting objectives, spectators will be entertained and able to follow surprisingly relatable action onstage. As a result,

Hamlet

should feel like updated take on one of humanity’s oldest, most familiar tales — perhaps with one or two odd phrases sprinkled in between.

The timeliness of a story that features characters wielding political power to silence their foes, multiple conspiracies shrouded in secrecy, and a volatile King willing to do anything to keep his throne is not lost on those responsible for brining it to life. Cryer envisions a production that is perhaps eerily similar to today’s sociopolitical world, noting that

Hamlet

“remains timeless and relevant as we witness a person whose ambition outweighs their abilities, and the code of normalcy, decency and law are all subverted to maintain power.”

Members of the cast locate a similar sense of urgency surrounding the production in the humanity of its characters. Tommy Bowden ’18, observes that “Life thrusts us into realms of chaos and uncertainty. And in those moments, no matter who we are, where we come from, or what specific issue face, we all grapple with the same choice: To be, or not to be? Do we stand up to fight the sea of troubles that is reality? Or do we give up? That is, in part, why Hamlet has lasted so long. It captures a tragic but very real part of what it means to be human.”

This circumstantially relatable quality extends beyond Hamlet him- self as Adrian Summers ’19 adds that “Shakespeare wrote about real people and real emotions, and real struggles. Today, everyone is so focused on armoring themselves with new and fancy labels and and language, that it’s easy to forget that when we interact with each other, that we’re dealing with real people, with real emotions, real histories, and real objectives.” Mackenzie Bettmann ’18, sums it up best, stating: “I think it’s a beautiful thing that audiences have been moved by this tragedy for hundreds of years and will continue to be moved by performances in the future.”

Though it promises elaborate set pieces, intense fight sequences, famous monologues, and heightened language, the director’s, cast’s, and crew’s goal for Hamlet is surprisingly humble. “What I’d love for [the Hamilton Community] to take from this play is a greater appreciation for heightened language and the originality and craft of Shakespeare, [and] a realization of how darn talented their classmates and peers are” notes Cryer. Bowden ’18 encourages Hamilton audiences to “sit back, relax, and watch someone else take on the craziness of the world for a couple hours.” Summers, ’19 hopes

Hamlet’s

“magical vibe” will encourage audiences to “keep dreaming.”

Hamlet

opens Thursday, April 12th at 7:30 in the Romano Theatre, and runs through the end of April. There will be matinees on the 14th and the 21st at 2 PM. For ticket information, call (315) 859–4969.