Hamlet packs plenty of punch; is a compelling watch

The Marathi adaptation of Hamlet, which is the Bard’s tale of the wicked manoeuvres of Denmark’s royal family, enthrals with a Broadway-like grandeur. Reasons: manifold. Usually, for a regular commercial play, the norm is to prep the stage up about two hours prior to the show. But with the stage auteur Chandrakant Kulkarni’s three- act adaptation, it takes the set designing crew nothing less than 10-12 hours to create the desired canvas for Hamlet. And that’s not it! As opposed to the traditional use of the overhead and stage floor microphones, the actors make use of lapel mics. These are absolute godsends, not only for enhanced freedom of movement and utilisation of stage space, but also for better sound clarity and volume.

Sumeet Raghavan, as Hamlet, is highly persuasive and powerfully journeys through the spectrum of the dark times of the prince. Right from the opening act of the mourning of his father’s death, to the defenceless acceptance of his mother Queen

Gertrude

’s wedlock with the conniving Uncle Claudius, the losing battle with his lady-love Ophelia, and his undeterred ambition of revenge, Raghavan delivers like a boss. The winning stroke is that every actor seems to have deeply studied the nuances of his character, and lives up to the gravitas of the Shakespearean magnum opus.

The biggest upside of the show is the spirited synergy of the actors. Tushar Dalvi’s diabolical schemes as Claudius, Mugdha Godbole’s vulnerability in the shoes of Gertrude, or the ingénue that Ophelia is which ultimately takes her life, aptly portrayed by

Manava Naik

: all whip up a palatable experience! For me, the third act brewed magic. The revelations that the plot held, the distressing climax and the goose-bumps-triggering swordfight sequence between Hamlet and Laeartes, earned the show truckloads of brownie points.

My verdict: to see or not to see is no more the question. Hamlet’s a stunner, go for it!
- Ketaki Latkar