This year’s unofficial mini-festival of nontraditional takes on Hamlet continues at Chicago Shakespeare, which brought us Eddie Izzardʼs one-woman version a year ago. (We’ve also seen Robert Lepage and Guillaume Côté’s dance version, Teatro Tariakuri’s El Piélago de las Calamidades, and Goodman’s Fat Ham.) The short run of Teatro La Plaza’s Hamlet through Sunday at Chicago Shakes’s upstairs studio marks the U.S. premiere for this Peruvian company. (The show is copresented by the Chicago Latino Theater Alliance.) And it should not be missed if you can snag a ticket.
Hamlet
Through 3/23: Wed 1 and 7:30 PM, Thu–Fri 7:30 PM, Sat 2:30 and 7:30 PM, Sun 2:30 PM; Chicago Shakespeare Theater, 800 E. Grand, 312-595-5600, chicagoshakes.com, $35-$40, in Spanish with English titles
The cast features adults with Down syndrome who draw on their own anecdotes and experiences to reimagine Shakespeare’s story of vengeance, grief, and doubt. The result is a compelling and fresh 95-minute collage of scenes reflecting on the isolation and misunderstanding they face in their lives. Writer-director Chela De Ferrari’s eight-member ensemble refracts the existential profundity of the brooding Dane’s “to be or not to be” in personal terms. In particular, the love of Ophelia and Hamlet feels quite poignant as it reflects the barriers to romantic relationships people with Down syndrome face from parents and other forces in society who tell them, “We only want what is best for you” (and also not so secretly want to make sure no more people like them exist).
The actors, all of whom have impressive credits both on- and offstage in areas including sports, dance, and activism, take turns playing the multiple roles in Shakespeare’s original. At one point, Ian McKellen appears via video to answer seven questions from Jaime Cruz about how to play Hamlet, and a snippet of Laurence Olivier’s masterful film performance also shows up. But this cast isn’t leaning on anyone else to make the story their own, and the exhilarating dance party that ends the show reveals the power of choosing to be yourself in the face of limitations and prejudices.
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