© Debra Murphy, 2000
In 1964, theatre history was made and legends augmented, if not born, when John Gielgud directed Richard Burton in a production of Hamlet on Broadway. The production might have remained nothing but a legend to most of us, who did not have the pleasure of seeing it first-hand, had it not been for this excellent black-and-white film recording, recently made available on DVD. All I can say is, what an incredible treat to hear those gorgeous soliloquies spoken by the mellifluous and honey-tongued Richard Burton. And he ain’t bad to look at, neither.
As one might expect in a production directed by Gielgud, perhaps the foremost vocal interpreter of Shakespearean poetry in the twentieth century, the emphasis is on the music. This is a stripped-down production conceived as a rehearsal, or work-in-progress. The set is sparse and the props almost nonexistent. Even the pictures of King Hamlet and Claudius, usually worn in miniature by Hamlet and Gertrude in the Closet scene, are left to the audience’s imagination — in my view, without loss. What is left are the words, the poetry, the aural drama.
No single actor, this side of the Beatific Vision, could possibly give us the definitive, fully-formed Hamlet. What Burton gives the audience is one of the most intelligent and charmingly ironic of the many possible Danish Princes. His laugh is infectious and his irony turned as much on himself as anyone else. He is a thoroughly postmodern man, but not — at least not yet — a complete Cynic, as he has sometimes been portrayed in our weary age.
As for the rest of the cast, I found them all strong but not particularly memorable, with the exception of Gielgud himself, who plays the Ghost in shadow, and Hume Cronyn as Polonius. The first actor to receive a Tony award in a Shakespearean role for his wily turn as Polonius, Cronyn somehow manages to tread the fine line between his character’s craftiness and buffoonery — a problem that has stymied many a fine actor. His comedic timing in the “what else is’t, but to be mad” scene with Gertrude and Claudius is simply as good as it gets.
This is a must-see production for every Hamlet fan.
CAST:
Hamlet – Richard Burton
Polonius – Hume Cronyn
Claudius – Alfred Drake
Gertrude – Eileen Herlie
Ophelia – Linda Marsh
Laertes – John Collum
Ghost — John Gielgud
First Player – George Rose
Rosencrantz – Clement Fowler
Guildenstern– William Redfield
film director – Bill Colleran
