My One Man Review of a One Man Hamlet

 Hamlet : To be or not to be?

When the lights came up after Michael Birch’s One Man Hamlet, one thought was at the forefront of my mind: “How were those last ninety minutes of a man talking to himself so entertaining?” Let’s face it, as much as I love the Bard, Shakespeare can be a real challenge for any performer and The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is arguably one of the most demanding plays in his cannon. The lead role alone has been known to leave even famous leading men *coughjudelaw* inadequately stumbling about the stage, lost in hopeless ennui, their acting muscles stretched well beyond their breaking point. So, my dear readers, how the heck is it possible for one actor to portray every single character in the show simultaneously and retain even a modicum of Hamlet’s spirit?

Well, don’t ask me how he does it, but Birch pulls it off with virtual seamlessness. Aside from some initial confusion between the minor characters I had at the beginning of the show, each roll was portrayed convincingly and each character retained something of their own unique je ne sais qua to the point where I came close to forgetting that I was watching a single person for the entirety of the performance.

Now clearly, with a cast of one, and a 3+ hour show condensed into a mere 90 minutes, Michael Birch’s One Man Hamlet is not your daddy’s Hamlet, but once you get past the fact that a forty-something man is yelling “Get thee to a nunnery!” to himself, the tragedy is as compelling as it ever was. “It was about letting the words tell the story,” says director Bricken Sparacino, “We knew, obviously, that this would be a different sort of performance. When you have one actor playing all the roles, you’re going to get laughs. We decided it was better not to fight that, but we’re not just playing for comedy.”

After seeing it Sunday night, I can personally attest to the fact that while this show was far lighter than other incarnations of Hamlet, the bulk of the performance went towards staying committed to each character rather than playing up the absurdity. “I don’t think there’s any way to have the same actor die four times in a row without getting a giggle or two” Michael tells me “But you’ll notice that when it comes time for Hamlet to die, nobody’s laughing.”

With the final performance fast approaching of what can only be considered a wildly successful run at Under St. Mark’s Theatre, it’s no surprise that Michael and Bricken have high hopes for One Man Hamlet’s future. There’s already talk of finding a new venue, or touring the show around local high schools and colleges. “I wanted to do a Hamlet for a modern audience,” quips Birch. “I want everyone to dig on it. It’s just the queen’s English.” That it is Mr. Birch. That it is.

Michael Birch's One Man Hamlet is running one more sunday, 7:00pm @ Under St. Mark's Theatre.  Tickets are $10Get there early because it's very likely to sell out again.