Theatrical Review: MINTeatro's "Hamlet" by William Shakespeare

 

                           (Director Nelsito Gomez (2nd from left) with friends)

My favorite venues for watching live theatre are always the intimate ones. From staged readings in medium-sized auditoriums to college theatres, and of course, the classroom, where the thrill of live voices ring out freely. There is a wholesomeness to theatre done without lapels, without too-pretty sets that sometimes outshine their stars. There is something beautiful in student productions wrought by young actors giving some of the bravest performances, convincing their audience members to share in their reality for 2.5 hours (don’t complain, it’s about as long as the Wakanda Forever movie and infinitely more worthwhile!).

How fitting that my first pandemic theatrical experience was MINTeatro’s student production of Shakespeare’s HAMLET! Director Nelsito Gomez based his work on the edited script by Shakespeare authority Jaime Del Mundo, and used the “play-within-a-play” framework for maximum effect. The play stars Rafael Jimenez as the tortured princely Dane, whose baby-faced youthfulness made this audience member reel with the realization that HEY! HAMLET IS REALLY YOUNG! And it just hit differently with the recent pandemic and the mental health crisis in our vulnerable youth.

I was struck with the thought that there can be multiple interpretations of Hamlet: as a case study for mental health, as a political metaphor for a country lacking honorable parent/authority figures, the list goes on.

The play is rich in themes, but Director Nelsito Gomez certainly did not spoon-feed his audience. He gave the play to us AS IS, trusting us to form our own conclusions, interpret it through the lens of our different personal experiences.

This is meaty Shakespeare, perhaps pared of a few lines but undoubtedly, it was the Bard of Avon’s words bursting forth with conviction and clarity from the other actors like Zackary Flynn (Claudius) and Dippy Arceo (a female Polonius… which somehow WORKED better especially with Ophelia’s later unraveling!) Miguel Salaya’s performance as Laertes was particularly moving.

“To be or not to be?” Nelsito Gomez and the cast throws the question back at the audience, for us to answer for ourselves.

But if you ask me, “To watch or not to watch?” then the answer’s easy! Go see them next weekend, they have shows on Nov.18 and 19!