The Witching Time of Night

Piotr Gruszczyński, TYGODNIK POWSZECHNY

On a play-bill Hamlet, the prince of Denmark, is naked. Excellent royal garment is hanging loose from his muscular arms, huge crown on his head. Strongly posed and stylised, as from the photographic session of one of the British magazines or straight from the newest fashion show catwalk, perhaps Jean-Paul Gautier, perhaps Vivienne Westwood, whoever. Hamlet is dressed in Claudius coronation attire that he would never wear on stage. He is trying something, he is getting ready, just like the whole spectacle is getting Hamlet ready for the modern sensibility, with consequent ostentation and no compromises.
How should one play Hamlet? Jan Kott wrote that „Hamlet is like a sponge that absorbs the present time at once". Until quite lately Hamlet was participated in terms of power, the conflict of the tyranny and bravery in Poland. Recently a lot has changed - 10 years ago in Wajda's spectacle Hamlet was an actor, even an actress. Played in a dressing room with a narrow gap into the stage, it concerned mainly the condition of the theatre and the actors, seeking for the new mission for themselves after what had happened after June 1989 in Poland. I remember another two failed staging: the one by Andrzej Domalik in Dramatyczny Theatre in Warsaw and Krzysztof Nazar's one in Wybrzeże Theatre in Gdańsk. Not counting the Lithuanian one of Nekrošius' showed in Poland. Not much. The sponge must absorb the present time, and we must examine ourselves in Hamlet. So how to play it? For sure not as an obligatory reading matter, turning the work of art into a dull and useless bore, that is assuming that the audience know the drama and is curious of the game rather than the rendition. For sure not as a drama of power. It is necessary to reach for what is metaphysical and existential in Hamlet, to play it as an individual story involved in a complicated quadrille of roles and as a game, private but not heroic. And in defiance of the feminist reinterpretation of the world, in harmony with a gay reinterpretation. Rather of what is deep in people's hearts, not in Poland to think about.
In full light
It begins from the play in theatre, from building up an awareness that everything is a game and the roles that we play do not determine the persons or even the characters. The guards in Elsinore tip the snow onto each other, they look like clowns, not like soldiers. They are actors. The star on the west side of the sky is a short-lived flash of the fireworks. There is no Ghost of Hamlet's Father though one speaks to him. When Hamlet (Jacek Poniedziałek) is supposed to meet his murdered father's shadow, he carries on the dialogue with one of the actors (Cezary Kosiński), who temporarily took the part of the phantom. The ceremonial scene begins, the scene of Claudius (Marek Kalita) wedding and his crowning. Gertrude (Stanisława Celińska) is much older than her husband. When she takes off her purple attire she is dressed in a white gown leavened as a meringue, tight in a waist, sleeveless. Stout Gertrude is running out of her dress. The royal couple accept the homage. Hamlet appears in a court attire with braidings; Ophelia in a fine pink dress. A dancing begins, a court minuet. Gertrude shows her true nature. Once she is a vulgar tradeswoman, then she gains queen's menacing dignity; once she cares for her son, just to mock his weaknesses in an instant, not despising unrefined hints concerning Hamlet's sexual inclinations. For the time being the game lasts, the roles show their power. All in full light.
„To be or not to be" Hamlet-actor says (dressed in black trousers, black socks and woollen waistcoat with coloured buttons), sitting on a chair situated in the middle of the game field, surrounded with the actors-spectators. Game is played on the podium set between two sectors of chairs for the public (along the longer side of the stage) and chairs for the actors. Behind them there is a big frosted tin mirror, on the other side - the door of the royal hall. The simplest and actually perfect space of the game. It does not hide anything, does not falsify anything with theatrical tricks. It disclose everything, making the relation between the heroes exceptionally close and intense, and including the spectators in the scenic events. Entirely conventional space is a space of many possibilities, unlimited potential of Hamlet susceptible to every interpretation. Each version of the play is possible in that case. The game field is open.
First part of the spectacle, in which the parts are played, tries many depictions of the characters, different erotic possibilities, playing with the text once offered by Shakespeare. It ends with playing The Murder of Gonzago. Wandering actors came to Elsinore and they took possession of the whole spectacle, Hamlet does not have to give them any advices, they are the ones who are the rulers in the theatre. They are in a strange way the actors „of a cult". Hamlet recites the famous lines „The rugged Pyrrhus, - he whose sable arms, Black as his purpose..." first together with an actor pressing his face against his own, and then he shouts out the monologue in aggressive and unnatural nearness, as though he tried to lead to the moment the theatre acts directly, breaking the rules of the distance and breach the integrity of the spectator's space. No wonder that the theatre in the theatre that is going to happen, must break the universality of the game and role play at last. It is necessary that something serious happens - something serious and something for sure. The theatre shall disclose its force, power and its authority. Before the actors play the story of the murder of Gonzago, they ritually fight to the accompaniment of the women's song. To become a „mousetrap" the theatre must sanctify oneself, give the creative force to theatrical gestures. Better competitor shall turn out to be noble and he shall be the one who plays the part of the poisoned Gonzago. He had also taken the part of the Ghost of Hamlet's Father. When theatrical king dies in deadly convulsions, Claudius runs to him and pounces on him, as though he would like to finish him off. He shouts „Away", he demands light. The theatre is lighting up.
In the darkness
After intermission we shall see once more the end of the wandering troupe's spectacle. Once again Claudius will burst into the stage, once again he will shout „Away" and „Lights!". But this time everything plunges into darkness. Hamlet will utter his dreadful prophecy: „‘Tis now the very witching time of night / When churchyards yawn, and hell itself breathes out / Contagion to this world". The witching time of night takes possession of the heroes of the drama, cruelty shall reach culmination. Hamlet will become the drama of lust, contempt and hatred. We know that no one will be saved, that the stage will be all dead, but I have never seen Hamlet replete with such criminal, hellish instincts, almost trance-like. The sources of evil shall not come out of hiding. Nobody knows if the evil results from Hamlet's madness (now it is not clear any more if it is feigned or real), or criminal penchants of Claudius, who has all features of the insane psychopath in the second part. Evil takes metaphysical shape. It is like the spell cast on Elsinore. Everything comes true unswervingly, black dream of Danish night lasts.
Events go on in dark light, almost on the border of visibility, until the final duel of Hamlet and Laertes (Adam Woronowicz). The world sank in the dark night coming out of the form. Suddenly everything gains monstrous intensity and intimacy. Hamlet appears in Gertrude's bedroom completely naked, only with a sword he is going to kill Polonius (Mirosław Zbrojewicz) with. Heavy body of Polonius will lie down between Gertrude and Hamlet, for ever separating son from his mother. Claudius will come out to pray naked, wrapped in a purple attire. But he is not able to pray any more, he only gibbers frightened. All second part scenes are overwhelmed by the mysterious force. Here the mystery of Hamlet is hidden, in the witching time of night.
At the same time Warlikowski resigns the symbolic solutions, he wants the theatre to penetrate the spectators' minds through their skin. Sometimes he even goes over the top, so far as to vulgar solutions, remaining consequent in avoiding unconvincing symbolism. In the scene with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Maria Seweryn and Jolanta Fraszyńska) Hamlet, comparing himself to the flute, puts wooden pipe against his flies. In the darkness the crimes happen and erotic passions last. Evil becomes exciting. Telling Claudius of murdering Polonius, Hamlet keeps his hand in his trousers. All heroes' dresses become modern. Gertrude starts wearing black mini skirt, prepares to put on full mourning at Ophelia's funeral, where she puts on a short black coat and black scarf tied under chin. She looks ordinarily. Ophelia also stopped wearing her pink ball-dress. Actually Hamlet stripped it off her, committing a brutal rape. Ophelia sings her insane songs playing the accordion. She will not drown. We shall see her falling down on her face and ceases moving leaned on accordion. She died and she lies as a doll, maltreated, disgraced, unworthy.
Earlier there was a radical rejecting of political thread. The armed forces of Fortynbras are coming, on their way to Poland. Once again the actor is telling about them, and he mocks at the incomprehensible bravery of Poles, ready to die for the patch of paltry land. In private story of Hamlet there is no place for the conflict of power. Evil that possessed the world has no rational foundation, it does not result from the strife. The scene with the Clowns gives the spectacle for a while in reign of the grotesque. The talks of jolly workers of death comment sharply the story of Ophelia's death. In the middle of the podium there are Gertrude, Claudius and Laertes: „Your sister's drown'd". At the side on the chairs actors - Clowns. „I like thy wit well, in good faith". After Ophelia's funeral there is time for Hamlet's duel with Laertes. There will not be any spectacular fencing. Men fight with huge swords, amazed with their weight, force and power, and the sound as serious as bell-ringing. Gertrude poisoned with wine is not falling into a fit of deadly convulsions. She is still sitting on a chair not stopping to fan. Spectacle is sinking in catatonia, in deadly unexplained numbness.
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Interpretation of Hamlet proposed by Krzysztof Warlikowski is based on two rules: fading of life, social and erotic functions, age-long divisions and opening of all the possibilities as well as capturing the fate of the heroes by what is dark and irrational, by the witching time of night that result from it. Shakespeare's tragedy does not always tolerate it. Some of the characters lose their reason for existence, for instance because of disposing the accents in homosexual manner. No one knows who Ophelia is in this spectacle, Horatio loses his nobleness and stops being Hamlet's Ark of the Covenant. But despite that, the spectacle remains a strong and exciting moment, a theatrical transgression on the side of the unknown. A brief review is not able to describe its variety and beauty, to wrestle with all its mysteries, nor to render the wonderfulness of Paweł Mykietyn's music, beautiful costumes of Małgorzata Szczęśniak, great acting of Stanisława Celińska, Marek Kalita, determination of Jacek Poniedziałek or at last the variety of the characters created by Cezary Kosiński.
It is not able either to overcome the host of stupidity and ill-will, showed by the reviewers of the spectacle. Do you remember the devilish cook in Festen - Dogma film based on Hamlet scheme? And the kitchen from where the action is controlled? And the couple of dish-washers with Down syndrome, who know the mysteries of the monstrous events in Lars von Trier's Kingdom? In Warlikowski's spectacle there is undoubtedly also the kitchen like that, the place of the second rank, where the secret of Hamlet events is known. Only that no one has access to it, even the director himself. We cannot come behind the scenes. We will not know the answer to the last question of the spectacle asked by Hamlet „Which have solicited?" Fortynbras will not come. There will not be any continuation. The story of Hamlet ends together with him. Evil is immanent, irrational, unexplained, metaphysical. This is the present-day problem to think about.