Hamlet as Told on the Streets

Company: One Trunk Theatre, Winnipeg, MB

Genre: Multimedia

Venue: 25 - The Vault

 

The bass thumps, fists pump, and the five performers throw themselves into the bloody, and often crude, action with gusto.

—Joff Schmidt

Oh, this is not your father's Hamlet.

Purists, the faint of heart, and those not ready to have a kick out the jams, laugh until your sides hurt good time need not attend. Everyone else - get thee to Hamlet As Told On the Streets.

This rambunctiously fun local production is based on an epic poem written by Shel Silverstein (yes, the popular children's author) and originally published in Playboy (possibly your first clue that you ought not bring the kids to this one).

Here, it's given a hip hop twist by One Trunk Theatre (performers Gwen Collins, Adam Charbonneau, Joshua Ranville, Nathan Cosa, and Tanja Woloshen, with director Andraea Sartison).

They transform The Vault (a basement space, accessed via a near-hidden entrance next to Peasant Cookery) into a grungy, graffitied Denmark (complete with its own bar and special cocktail, by the way). There, they rap, dance, and romp their way through a musical version of Silverstein's deliciously irreverent poem, set to music by Peter Reinhardt. And fortunately, there are handy surtitles on a video screen for the rap-impaired, so you won't miss any of the outrageously funny lyrics.

The bass thumps, fists pump, and the five performers throw themselves into the bloody, and often crude, action with gusto. And the results are invigorating and hilarious.

It all clocks in at a snappy 35 minutes, and makes a great late night Fringe treat. So before you let those flights of angels sing thee to thy rest, hit the streets with this Hamlet.