Favourite moments of Hamlet, in no particular order: When Hamlet calls Claudius his mother. The...
Favourite moments of Hamlet, in no particular order:
When Hamlet calls Claudius his mother. The scorn just beneath the pretended confusion. So good.The whole Hamlet/Polonius scene with the soldier outfit, the drumming, the “words, words, words” quote, and the transition from that into the “except my life” repetition and then the famous monologue. That transition was just perfectly rendered.
Hamlet’s monologue during the scene with the Players, especially the “I will have vengeance!!!”. Gah. When someone’s righteous anger just hits the mark like that, it’s actually thrilling. Hamlet forcing Guildenstern into the tango, and the whole “am I easier to play upon than a pipe?” bit. His grief at the beginning, particularly the moment when he picks up his father’s jacket and smells it, the sound of pure grief that he makes just after. The funny parts. All of them, including, after Hamlet’s scornful evasions to Claudius (”go and seek him in the other place yourself” - nice!) about the location of Polonius’ body, the line about how they’ll “nose him upon the stair” after a month or so, or just the way he manages to make the “goodnight, Mother” terribly funny as he’s dragging the body out of her room. His aside to Claudius during the play, “oh, if she were to leave him now!!”, etc. All of those moments. Ben is just SO good at humour, as all we Cabin Pressure fans already knew, but to see him use that in the context of this supremely tragic role, the crown jewel of the dramatic theatre repertoire, is stunning. I still love his ability to leap onto that table. I’ll pair this with just how FAST he is. His speed on the stairs during the chase scene following his inadvertent murder of Polonius, for example. The way he’s able to make everything so transparent, so that it’s accessible to almost everything. It’s just in the delivery of his lines, the clarity that he manages to bring to this old-fashioned, sometimes rather convoluted language. It’s impressive.
I’m sure I’ll think of more, but I’m fresh off seeing it again and just had to share some of the admiration I’m brimming with! :) As I was just saying to @happierstill, his talent is just incandescent. He expends so much energy as he performs that it seems like he’ll burn his clothes right off. A talent like his doesn’t come along every day and I’m thrilled to be alive while he is. It’s pretty damned cool.
Published on November 07, 2015 19:44
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