HAMLET : THE CLOWN PRINCE (Dhaka)

There is a lot not to like about Hamlet. It is very long, incredibly intense and not a bit funny. But for those of you who cannot face four morbid hours in Elsinore, there is the alternative of 90 madcap minutes in something you have not seen before, read on theatre fans ........

Protected content DO PRESENT

Protected content : THE CLOWN PRINCE

Protected content by Rajat Kapoor

Protected content by : EXCALIBUR ENTERTAINMENT - JATRIK-CULTUREPOT

Protected content BALLROOM , RADISSON WATER GARDEN

Protected content 18TH MAY , Protected content (Show runs for Protected content )

Protected content tickets (Rows A, B,C,D,E,F,G)= Tk. 4, Protected content Tickets (Rows H-Y)= Tk. 3,000
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A group of clowns decide to put on a production of Hamlet, and so they do, in a mixture of Italian, French, Swahili , English (often but not always Shakespearean) and... well, gibberish. Because they're clowns, they do it as clowns would. They choose to use some phrases from the play and mix it with gibberish. They even edit the text, throw out some important scenes, and make a mess of the order of things as if the pages got mixed up. But through this all they are simply looking for the essence of Hamlet and trying to find a context for it in this day and age .

Atul Kumar studied the classical discipline of Kathakali and the European tradition of mime with Philippe Genty, and his antic prince has a foot in both camps. Reversing the usual polarity of the Dane, Kumar presents a madman prone to fits of sanity, while his virtuoso vocal improvisations – approximately 40% in English – borrow from the Vidushaka, the colloquial fool of Sanskrit drama, and the Bollywood method of presenting the dialogue in several different languages at once.

The interpretation has its lucid moments: who has not at some point felt the need to gag Polonius with a roll of duct tape? And the pathos of Ophelia's valediction is intensified by plucking real flowers from thin air. The individual clown's personalities keep coming through: Puja Sarup's Buzo, who plays Gertrude, is a bit of a lush (as Gertude is often played) and has romantic issues with others in the cast; Fido (who plays Claudius and is played by Neil Bhoopalam) is a dancer and takes every opportunity to break into dance; Atul Kumar's Soso (Hamlet) sulks a lot - sometimes it's Hamlet doing the sulking, sometimes Soso. There are some knowing comments thrown in for good measure: at one point it is suggested to Ophelia that she should learn to swim!
It's generally fast moving and great fun. The play swept through London’s theatre district with critical reviews by the press, this led the Company theatre to take this play all over the world, the play just finished in China and completing Protected content till date .
Hamlet :The Clown Prince runs for Protected content without an interval - not quite the Reduced Shakespeare Company version but very much shorter than the original!

On the whole, however, this is a thoroughly enjoyable, fun production in that great modern tradition of looking at Shakespeare from a different perspective, in this case from the dual viewpoint of clowning and Indian culture.

excerpts for this blurb taken from the Guardian & Alfred Hickling
STARRING
ATUL KUMAR - KALKI KOECHLIN - NEIL BHOOMPALAM- NAMIT DAS- SUJAY SAPLE- PUJA SARUP

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rajesh koul : Protected content

No One Is Worth Your Tears. The One Who Is Will Never Make You Cry !!!!

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