Hamlet Production 07/10/2014: Notes

Higher Drama

Hamlet Notes

These are the notes we came up with together. Use these to fill out your analysis grids for the different aspects

Acting

Pre-show – running through tracking and lines. They are actors playing a part, believability, theatre experience.

Cold at the start – The actors help to confirm their location using voice and movement skills. They enter the stage area, rubbing and blowing on their hands. Their voices sound strained at times and breathy. All this helps us to realise they are cold and not sheltered well.

Hamlets Movement contrasts – Hamlet uses contrasts in his movement to reflect his ever changing mood. He is losing his mind and is very up and down. Shows this by varying his movements from twitchy and fidgety movements that make him look agitated to still moments where he seems thoughtful and sad.

Hamlets’ voice contrasts – Hamlet varies his voice throughout the play. He uses a difference of volume, pitch, tone, intonation and pace often to extremes and this gives us a clear indication of his madness. His head is all over the place and this is reflected in how he communicates. He uses emphasis to help clarify understanding in some of his longer speeches and at times varies his accent for comedic effect.

Polonius and Ophelia – Their movement suggests sexual connotations. The way he pulls her hair away from her neck from behind, he grabs her from behind also. Ophelia sits on Polonius’ knee and he moves his hand up her thigh. He also become violent and aggressive towards her, grabbing her strongly by the face and slamming her up against the wall. All this suggests a relationship that is not typical of a father and daughter. It hints and mental, physical and sexual abuse.

The uncle pose – Hamlet uses movement to show the audience his feelings for is uncle. When he begins to talk about his uncle and his relationship with his mother he repeats the same movement. Hamlet hunches over, tilting his head up and brings his hands up to his chest. His fingers are almost contorted and in doing this he creates a recognisable visual representation of a classic villain. We can see from the outset that Claudius is the villain of the story.

Hamlet and Ophelia kiss – in the change of scene we see Hamlet and Ophelia embrace and passionately kiss. This gives us a glimpse of their relationship as it previously was, before Hamlet went away. It give the audience some background knowledge of the characters so that we can understand why they react and behave the way they do.

Ophelia and Laertes’ Embrace – This movement motif is repeated whenever the brother and sister greet each other. She flings her arms around his neck and he lifts her from the ground in a loving and comforting embrace. The embrace shows genuine and heartfelt care between the two. It shows the protection that Laertes feels towards Ophelia and acts as a visual representation of their strong bond with one another.

Polonius telling of Hamlet’s love for Ophelia –Polonius reveals to Claudius and Gertrude that he believes Hamlet is in love with Ophelia. This gives us a chance to see Polonius’ meddling nature. The scene is laid out almost like a courtroom with the king and queen sat on either side and Polonius in the centre. He delivers his speech similar to that of a lawyer delivering his opening speech to a jury, he provides exhibits as evidence of his theory by way of Hamlet’s letters and Ophelia as a witness. Lawyers are stereotypically sly and underhand and this could be suggesting that Polonius has similar qualities. He seems to be the one pulling the strings and spinning the stories, this is also apparent in his return as a ghostly presence, haunting and playing with Ophelia’s mind.

Hamlet’s Friend’s boyish movements – The actors playing Guildenstern and Rosencrantz use movement and mannerisms typical of young children. They stand with a wide gait and are often fidgety, moving their weight from left to right creating a sense of excitement and anticipation. They use big, over the top gestures like pointing directly at Hamlet and throwing their arms open to greet him. They have a close proxemics to one another and feel comfortable to have physical contact with one another by the way of hugs and pats on the back etc. They show excitement to be in one another’s company by jumping up and down, smiling and laughing when they first meet. They tease each other and use sarcastic tones in a friendly way. Hamlet’s body language mirrors theirs which is a contrast to how he has been previously in the play. This allows the audience to understand that these are old friendships, they have known each other for a long time and clearly spent their boyhood together. This makes its all the more shocking for them to betray Hamlet and spy on him as Claudius requests. Their movement suggests innocence and makes them an easy target for Claudius, we can believe that they may be naïve enough to betray their friend. It also provides a stark contrast when Hamlet begins to expose their betrayal, their movements change dramatically.

Ensemble slow motion – Slow motion used to highlight the moment in Hamlet’s head when he shoots Claudius at the end of act 1. It’s not real, slow motion represents how we see things in our head??

Ophelia’s pain movement – Ophelia shows her pain (both physically and mentally) an ongoing motif after her father has died. She continues to bend over and grab her stomach. This is representative of the fact she is suffering a miscarriage but could also be symbolic of the torment she is feeling from her encounter with Hamlet and her father’s death.

Proxemics of Grave maker – grave maker speaks with the dead, he is close, sitting on the side of the grave, he has a close relationship to the dead, he is comfortable in his job. Allows us to feel comfortable and therefore view him in his comedy role as intended.

Polonius accompanies Laertes when he speaks about his revenge on Hamlet – Polonius is dead but he appears onstage at key moments. When Laertes is threatening to take revenge on Hamlet for his father’s death, polonius is there, by his side. Reinforcing the reasons for Laertes’ intended revenge and continuing to pull the strings within the story as he has from the start. Giving him his blessing to take revenge on Hamlet.

Polonius and Ophelia seem to dance in the giving out ‘Flowers’ scene – She continues to be influenced by her father, she is still doing his ‘Dance’

Hamlet kisses Claudius –Symbolic of the kiss of Judas, Claudius’ fate has been sealed he will die??

The closeness of Hamlet and his mother – in her chamber we get to see the closeness of their relationship. They hold each other and comfort one another. This genuine intimacy between a mother and her son helps us to understand the betrayal that Hamlet feels through his mother’s relationship with his uncle. He attempts to make her take responsibility for her betrayal. At first she does not want to listen and tries to move her head away from Hamlet and break the eye contact. He holds her head firm and speaks looking straight into her eyes. When he breaks down she comforts him and uses long sweeping motions across his back, smoothing down his jacket, almost symbolic of her trying to smooth out his problems and soothe him.

Lighting

Lighting for the ghost of the king – The same lighting motif is used each time the spirit appears. The actor is lit from behind using a white Fresnel at the back of the stage. This puts the actor in shiluoette and helps to create the notion of ghostly shadows in the dark. The rest of the stage is very dimly lit with steely blue and white profile spots, creating the sense of a cold dark night. The beams are highlighted by the use of smoke, giving us a sense of moonlight, perhaps a full moon. This has a heavy impact on the audience and it heightens the mood and atmosphere allowing us to mirror the feelings of the characters on stage.

Soft lighting for party – A lighting chain, not typical for theatre lighting is used to create a softer and warmer atmosphere.

House lights up – the house lights are brought up as Hamlet says, ‘Who calls me Villain’. It gives us a sense that we are under the spotlight, almost that Hamlet knows we may be judging him. The house lights make us feel uncomfortable, does Hamlet want us to feel a taste of what he is feeling, with all those around him watching and judging him and his apparent madness.

Players are lit with coloured lights – something interesting, exciting, not the norm is about to happen. These lights change to red as they act out the murder.

House lights up – ‘Guilty creatures sitting at a play’ as Hamlet says this line the house lights were bought up. We suddenly feel exposed, uncomfortable, are we mirroring the feelings that Hamlet intends Claudius to feel when he is watching the play

Purple lighting used for Ophelia – Long purple profile spot used in both her speech and during Gertrude’s speech explaining Ophelia’s death. Gertrude mentions ‘Long Purples’ speaking about her death. This is a direct correlation to the lighting used. Long Purples (orchids) have a connection with sexuality and using the purple light could have a symbolic connection to the idea that Ophelia represents sexual desire within the play. The purple light could also have a connection to another flower that is mentioned by Ophelia herself – Violets. Violets are a symbol of faithfulness. Could this be symbolic of Ophelia’s faith in Hamlet’s love and putting all her faith in her father when she listens to him when he advises her to stop seeing Hamlet.

Ophelia’s usual purple light turns to red during her song – at the end of this scene, Ophelia warns she will tell her brother of her father’s murder. Is the red light a symbolic representation of the danger that is coming and the blood that will be spilled??

Green light during Laertes speech on revenge – Villain connotations, Polonius is there, giving Laertes the ‘green light’ to go ahead with his revenge plans.
Green light in the graveyard – Suggesting grass, bodies lying under the earth, they are outside (location, season and time, representation)

Lights turn colder as character’s die – In the final scene, as the character’s die, the lights slowly fade from a warm yellow to a cool white. Death is upon them, their bodies are turning colder.

Light in Gertrude’s room – A light is flown in from the ceiling to depict a change in scene to Gertrude’s chambers. This light is harsh and bright, could it be exposing Gertrude and putting her under the spotlight for her part to play in the tragedy??

Sound

Different pitched sounds are made throughout the play using old style reel to reel recorders - These machines allow notes to be played and their pitch altered. Actors take turns throughout to alter the pitch of the notes ranging from low bass notes to high pitched sounds. At times the volume is also changed, from the sounds being barely audible, just a background noise to the note dominating the scene. The notes often reflect the mood the scene is trying to create and add to the atmosphere in many different ways. When dark deeds are being discussed such as the murder of Hamlet, the reel to reel sound is low and menacing. When tension is building, for example in Gertrude’s chamber, a high pitched piercing sound makes us feel anxious and on edge. The highs and lows of the pitches mirror the highs and lows of the story and provide interesting soundscapes that help to set the scene, the mood and atmosphere and have a big impact on the audience.

The Ghost of Hamlets Father – every time the ghost appears the same music motif is played. The use of low menacing notes from the reel to reel and the clashing piano notes played gives a sense of fear and impending doom. The music gradually gets louder in volume and the pace quickens which helps to build the tension of the scene. The sudden silence as the Ghost disappears also helps to shock the audience and bring us back to reality. This helps to make the presence of the ghost all the more impactful as in the silence it feels as if something supernatural has just happened.
Claudius’s spell – there is a tinkling of bells as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern agree to spying on Hamlet. It almost suggests that they have fallen under Claudius’s spell, they have been persuaded to betray their good friend at his suggestion. It gives us a sense that Claudius is manipulative and devious. It helps to give him a villain status.

Hamlet/Ophelia music motif – A soft piano motif is heard when the two are together. The use of major chords makes the piece feel romantic and uplifting. This begins to change before the Nunnery speech. A violin comes in as the piano fades out. As Hamlet says the line ‘I did love you once’ the violin begins to create harsh and clashing sounds, the music seems to deteriorate reflecting the deterioration of their relationship. During the rape, the music sounds sharp and harsh and forceful directly mirroring the scene that is being played out.

Long note during players performance – A long note is held and gradually gets higher in pitch as the story builds to its climax. This helps to build the tension and suspense as they get closer to exposing Claudius.

Sound effect of bullet – At the end of Act 1 as the players have approached the climax of the story, Hamlet is convinced of Claudius’ guilt by his reaction and attempts to shoot him. One of the players creates the sound effect of Hamlets heavy breathing as he loses control and points the gun at Claudius. The heavy breathing compliments the slow motion movement sequence and helps to build the tension as the pace between breaths quickens. As the pace comes to a climax the live sound effect of the bullet is made as Hamlet fires the gun. Does the fact that these sound effects are made live by one of the players point at the fact that we eventually learn that this last part of the scene isn’t real and Hamlet has not really shot Claudius. The sound effect is a creation much like this fabricated scene that Hamlet is dreaming up whilst watching the players. Hamlet is disturbed and is becoming delirious. Also hints at little boys playing war, mimicking gun sounds etc.

Hamlets guitar playing – Hamlet plays the Electric Guitar after he feels he has exposed Claudius’s guilt. The loud and boisterous sound of the guitar mirrors the exuberance he feels at making Claudius squirm.

Horn used during fencing match – As Hamlet and Laertes are duelling a horn is used to depict each hit that is landed. Helps to emphasise the hit as well as give the audience a shock, reflecting the shock of the impact of the hit on the characters

Drum hit on Laertes entrance – Whenever Laertes enters a scene he is accompanied by a quick roll and hit of the drum. Is this alluding to his eventual duel with Hamlet. Drums often accompany armies as they go into war, is this drum roll predicting the war that will rage between Hamlet and Laertes.

The Piano is plucked during Claudius’ guilt speech – During the speech where he is asking god for forgiveness, the piano is plucked creating a strange and awkward sound. The fact that the piano is being used in the ‘Wrong’ way could be symbolic of the wrong-doing that Claudius has caused in killing the King, he is now trying to right his ‘wrongs’. His guilt also makes him an unnatural villain, we would not usually expect to see this as part of a villain’s stereotypical personality so again the unnaturalness of plucking the Piano mirrors this idea. The sound created also heightens the mood and atmosphere, it creates a tense and sinister environment, we are hearing things we shouldn’t hear (the confession) again mirrored by the way the piano is played – it was meant to be heard like that.

A deep wurring sound is heard and gets quicker and louder as Hamlet contemplates killing Claudius while he is praying. The rise ion volume and pace help to build the tension in the scene, it almost mimics the sound of Hamlets quickening heartbeat as he gets closer to killing Claudius.

A brush is used on the drum as Hamlet drags Polonius’s body – this helps to make the scene more realistic, there is no body in the plastic but the brush on the drum creates the illusion that there is something heavy inside. The brush imitates the sound of the friction caused by the body being dragged along the floor.

Bells rung when murder or death is imminent – there are a number of times a bell was used, during Hamlets speech before he enters his mother’s chambers and kills Polonius, during the scene between Claudius and Laertes when they plot to poison Hamlet, when Gertrude is describing Ophelia’s death. The bell was often used at funerals in the past both to encourage people to pray for those that had passed as well as ward off evil spirits.

Costume