HAMLET AS EVERYMAN—PAUL GIAMATTI. We went to see Paul Giamatti as Hamlet at the Yale Repertory Theatre. The production is controversial. The Boston Globe review by Dan Aucoin was headlined: “Hamlet as antic Everyschlub” and described Giamatti as “short, balding, paunchy, 45 but looking older”. This Broadway World review by Lauren Yarger called the production “one of the most entertaining trips you’ll ever take to Elsinore…” The audience the night we saw the play was indeed entertained. The first “act” of the play was filled with laughter at fresh and funny line readings.
Giamatti’s entrance displayed his approach to the play. Claudius is presiding over a formal occasion. Midway through his speech, we notice a humbly dressed figure standing at stage left who shambles across the front of the stage to the other side. (Hamlet’s sneakers have drawn attention in the reviews.) It was a Hamlet who has lost his place in the world. I have heard “Hamlet is everyman” a lot (I found over a million hits for the combination on Google), and I was glad to see the catch phrase put to the test. I thought it worked well up until the point where the play catches the conscience of the king. The production confirmed that for me, after that point, Hamlet should be played as a prince taking decisive action.