Performance Analysis: Serra High School's Hamlet

I just got home from seeing Serra High School's production of Hamlet. This is the third Shakespearean play I have seen the Serra theatre program produce; previously I attended their performances of As You Like It and Romeo and Juliet, and I was severely disappointed by both shows. Thus, I was expecting tonight's show to be equally terrible. However, I was pleasantly surprised. While this was certainly not a great production of Hamlet, there were moments of inspiration which made the show at times rather enjoyable.

The titular role was played by Jeff Thomson, a friend of mine whose performances have always been a diamond in the rough in the otherwise dismal Serra theatre program. However, in this case I think he was in over his head. There is a reason why Hamlet is considered the ultimate role for a serious actor. The role requires an incredible level of emotional depth and subtlety, things which Thomson just doesn't have enough of. Thomson is a very strong comedic actor, and his comedic talents shined in this show; however, Hamlet is not a comedy, and Thomson often inserted humorous meaning into lines that are supposed to be played seriously. In the most tense and emotionally stirring moments of the show - Hamlet's confrontations with Gertrude and Ophelia, the ending scene - Thomson shined, suddenly finding the truth behind the character.

There were a few other standout performances. Brianna Terrel played a captivatingly disturbed Ophelia. Nate Adams was very good as Laertes, his believable brotherly affection towards Ophelia making him one of the only sympathetic characters in this performance. Bao Do, as the First Player, turned a minor part into a show-stealing performance, relishing the theatricality and boisterousness of the role to great effect.

These standouts, though, were not enough to redeem the show's overall lack of effort, professionalism, and serious approach to Shakespeare's work. King Claudius, rather than being sinister and arrogant, was played by Riku Wade as a pretty nice and reasonable guy. Queen Gertrude was butchered even worse; Elizabeth Mills discharged the role with the one-note, deadpan, pouty angst of Kristen Stewart, sapping the emotional energy and tension from every scene she was a part of. It was really impossible to care about anything that was going on, since the principal antagonists were so dull and empty. This and the general lack of diction exhibited by the entire cast made the show difficult to follow and even harder to care about.