Review: Eddie Izzard’s ‘The Tragedy of Hamlet’ at Montalbán Theatre
- Anita W. Harris
- 1 day ago
- 3 min read
You may know Eddie Izzard for comedic performances, which may be why she (Izzard’s preferred pronoun, according to the director’s note) had to make very clear at the start of her one-person show “The Tragedy of Hamlet” that it is indeed a tragedy… albeit with some funny moments.
Izzard’s performing genius is on full display in this show, delivering lines for 23 characters of William Shakespeare’s play, as adapted by brother Mark Izzard and directed by Selina Cadell.
On a stark stage evoking castle walls with turret windows (designed by Tom Piper), brightly lit by Tyler Elich, Izzard wears a black peplum jacket, leather pants and boots (costume by Libby da Costa), with gorgeous makeup and long red nails. Izzard has formidable stage presence, able to command attention without even moving and keeping all eyes trained on her as she performs.
The play begins with nighttime sightings of dead King Hamlet’s ghost — complete with ethereal green light — and his admonition to Prince Hamlet that he take revenge on the king’s brother Claudius who murdered the king and wed Queen Gertrude, Hamlet’s mother, less than two months later.
So sets in motion Hamlet’s tortuous journey to exact that vengeance, beginning with speaking in riddles that vex girlfriend Ophelia and make him seem mad to everyone else, continuing with a play-within-a-play to “catch the conscience of the king” and verify his guilt, yet hesitating to kill Claudius when he’s praying while coldly stabbing Polonius hiding behind a curtain, sending poor Ophelia over the edge.
There are so many turns like this — including a visit with a gravedigger, a discussion with dead court jester Yorick’s skull, an altercation with Ophelia’s more direct brother Laertes — that it helps to know the play before going in since it’s only Izzard performing all the parts.
But that she does with such grace that it’s okay if characters are occasionally not easy to differentiate. Movement director Didi Hopkins has Izzard pace or circle the stage as she inhabits various roles and shifts scenes, whirling in place to become different characters. Her vocal changes are subtle, allowing the whole play to come across more like a mesmerizing poem without the pauses created by multiple actors having to speak in turn.
A few comic moments are scattered throughout as well that highlight absurdity, as when Polonius thickly layers advice onto Laertes before he leaves for university, or that make political parallels to current times along the lines of “something is rotten in the state of Denmark” that Izzard delivers with a knowing look.
The most delightful of these are when Izzard performs as Hamlet speaking to courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern enacted by his two hands like puppets. These scenes are done with such comic timing and deadpan delivery that they could almost become a separate act on their own, and perhaps make visible why Tom Stoppard created a whole other play around those unknowingly doomed characters.
The culminating scene, in which Hamlet duels Laertes in front of the court (with fight direction by J. Allen Suddeth), unaware of both a poisoned sword and poisoned chalice, is well staged with Izzard alternating the roles of the duelers and also Claudius and Gertrude. Lighting effects transform Hamlet into a martyr at the end, discovered and heralded by Fortinbras of Norway with a somewhat shortened flourish.
Because of Izzard’s close attention to language, this “Hamlet” is ultimately a meditation on the original tragedy that underscores the beauty of its writing and humanity of its twisted story. The more well-known lines and monologues (“To be, or not to be”) are delivered as one would want to hear them — from one soul to another rather than from a cold distance. In this way, Izzard’s warmth infuses the play with meaning, speaking to us now, perhaps when we need to feel it most.
Eddie Izzard’s “The Tragedy of Hamlet” continues through Jan. 31 at the Ricardo Montalbán Theatre, 1615 Vine St., Los Angeles, with shows Thursday at 7 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m. and Saturday at 3 p.m. Tickets start at $97.35 and can be purchased by visiting TheMontalban.com. Run time is 2 hours and 20 minutes, including intermission.