sanae 
(SF)If there are still tickets you should see Izzard's Hamlet (in SF)
I almost didn't get a ticket because the reviews were bad and I can only assume the reviewers saw a totally different play
It might be a bit hard to follow if you aren't familiar with Hamlet. She does talk quite fast. But her ability to differentiate between the characters was pretty amazing
Tito Swineflu@sanae How did your experience differ from the reviews? I'm intrigued but ACT often has amateur garbage dressed up in big budgets, so I'm wary.
Kurt Nelson@tito_swineflu @sanae KURT25 gets you 25% off seats at ACT!
@tito_swineflu the reviews basically said they thought she was bad at it and I thought she was good at it
Rereading the review, I think the reviewer expected it to be more of a comedy (and so I think did the audience, there was some awkward, oddly placed laughter at the beginning when people were trying to find jokes that aren't there). And it is very funny in places, but it is Hamlet.
@tito_swineflu I think you have to go in intending to take someone playing multiple characters at once seriously. It's a minimal set with no props that invites you to use your imagination to fill things in and you have to view the single actor as another form of minimalism rather than inherently comedic. There is some intentional comedy in how two particular characters are portrayed by one actor at the same time but otherwise you have to take the premise seriously
@tito_swineflu one part of the review that's probably fair is that this probably doesn't work for anyone who isn't already somewhat familiar with Hamlet
@sanae @tito_swineflu Sleep No More was the same thing, if you didn't know Hamlet, no dialogue makes it confusing.
Tyler VuBut then what’s the point? If there isn’t anything to be gained by seeing a one woman Hamlet, why not employ more actors and people to create a nice set.
@tylervu @tito_swineflu I have no idea how you got that from my comment. Unless your assumption is that the only thing that you can possibly get from seeing her play every character is for the premise to be comedic. If that's the case it probably isn't the play for you
I was just wondering if this production adds anything new to our understanding of Hamlet. Is there a new take on the character in the context of playing all the other parts?
I saw Andrew Scott do a one person production of Uncle Vanya and it brought a deeper meaning to the play.
If the thrill is just “oh look, a one person Hamlet - and nothing more,” I’ve seen enough Hamlets and bad ACT productions.
@tylervu @tito_swineflu if you're unconvinced by the premise then I guess don't watch it? It's Izzard performing Hamlet. It's not a parody of Hamlet even though Izzard is a comedian. If you only want to watch it if it's a parody then you probably won't like it. If you don't want to watch Hamlet you probably won't like it either. I don't watch so many plays that I can routinely compare many different renditions of the exact same play so I'm sure my options are irrelevant to you
@tylervu @tito_swineflu I had never previously heard of ATC but if you consider it too unsophisticated for you and watch so much theatre that you're bored of Hamlet then I think we might as well be speaking entirely different languages here
I enjoy learning what people think of theater. Your opinions are very relevant to me. It’s what makes going to shows fun. Also - I should have used American Conservatory Theater instead of ACT. My bad.
@sanae Thanks!
johnelliott@sanae ohhhhh I didn’t know about this!