By Paris Healey
“Something is rotten in the state of Denmark…” but it’s not the Company of Adventurers’ production of Hamlet — returning for a limited engagement at The Gladstone Theatre from Jan. 17-18.
With all the shakeups in Canadian politics this week, there is no better time to catch one of Shakespeare’s most political plays. Hamlet has it all: political backstabbing, familial backstabbing, literal backstabbing — basically, a lot of stabbing.
The play follows Hamlet, the Prince of Denmark, as he mourns the recent death of his father; a death that is made more complicated by the fact that Hamlet’s mother is now married to his father’s murderer/brother, Claudius.
Scene from the Company of Adventurers’ Hamlet. Photo by Natascha Sekerinski of Tasch Photography.
Cynthia Sugars and Paul Keen, founders and co-directors of the company, touched on the parallels between their production and what is happening in the world today.
For Keen, the theme of misinformation is particularly relevant.
“We live in an age where truth has been such a casualty of misinformation and lies and … political deceit — so much so that it has become so acceptable just to be caught lying if you’re running for president or whatever. Shakespeare was totally aware of how tyranny worked. I think in that kind of bigger existential way, this is a play about how dangerous it is to live in a world where everything is fake.”
Morgan Sugars-Keen, who plays Hamlet in this production, says her character is a thinker surrounded by the impulsive.
Scene from the Company of Adventurers’ Hamlet. Photo by Natascha Sekerinski of Tasch Photography.
“Hamlet is a thinker. Everyone around him is kind of acting impulsively. The entire play is trying to figure out what’s right and what’s wrong, and how to act according to that.”
For Colleen Sanders, a current Canterbury High School student and a five-time Adventurer, working on Shakespeare is the highlight of her week. This time, she is stepping into the role of Laertes and one of the Players.
“[Laertes] is one of my favourite characters I’ve ever played. He’s so much fun — there’s so much energy with him. I get to fight and yell, [but also] have a really nice relationship with our Ophelia,” she says.
Though Shakespeare penned Hamlet over 400 years ago, Sugars doesn’t worry about holding the attention of a contemporary audience.
Scene from the Company of Adventurers’ Hamlet. Photo by Natascha Sekerinski of Tasch Photography.
“One thing we like to do in our shows is make Shakespeare come alive for a modern-day audience. It’s one thing when you’re reading the play on the page — which is hard enough — but seeing it live and trying to follow along can be difficult for audiences today, so we try to inject a lot of humour and music,” Sugars says. “We have a breakdancing scene, but we [also] have a lot of little improvised bits — Colleen does a couple of those! We like to try and pull our audience into the joy of it with us.”
The bar has been raised for this run, according to Sugars and Keen. For the first time, the Eastern Ontario Drama League Festival (EODL) competition will have someone in the audience to adjudicate their performance.
“It’s the first time we’re participating, [and] it’s fun! It’s a good thing. You want to challenge yourself — it’s all been a wonderful experience so far. We’re heading into the shows this coming weekend, and we’re a little bit nervous about the adjudicated show, but that’s okay!”
The EODL awards won’t be announced until April, so if you want a chance to judge for yourself, make sure you catch Company of Adventurers’ Hamlet at The Gladstone on Jan. 17-18. Tickets are free and can be booked online.
