Lalit Gupta
JAMMU, Mar 26: Samooh Theatre’s presentation of Shakespeare’s Hamlet marked the second day of ongoing Classic Theatre Festival, at the Abhinav Theatre, here today.
The Hindi translation of Hamlet by Harivansh Rai Bachchan, designed and directed by Ravinder Sharma, is fourth performance of the play in recent months by the group which regularly stages Shakespearean plays in the winter capital.
The play’s plot opened with Claudius as king of Denmark, who has married his recently dead brother/ King’s wife who is also young prince Hamlet’s mother. When the dead King’s ghost reveals to Hamlet that he had not died of snake-bite but murdered by Claudius, the outraged young prince vows revenge and stages a play for Claudius reenacting the death of the King. The play ends with his mother Gertrude drinking from a poisoned cup, Hamlet stabbing Claudius and Hamlet himself being stabbed by a poisoned blade.
The team of young actors put up an impressive show. Especially notable was the control and ease with which lengthy dialogues, especially the soliloquies by Hamlet were delivered. The set with its multiple levels, background score, and light design, emerged as strong elements of the production which were complimented by well-coordinated movements, groupings, entries and exists by actors.
The artist who performed in the play were Vishal Singh as Claudius, Sandeep Thakur as Hamlet, Sandeep Manhas as Laertes, Rashmi Jasrotia as Gertrude, Neha Langeh as Ophelia, Chetan Charak as Horatio, Samdhish Kumar as Guildenstern, Aditya Pandita as Rosencrantz, Aashima Dutta as Messenger, Manjeet Singh and Prashant Razdan as Bodyguards, Rohan Sharma as Osric, Abhishek Sharma as Actor, Sugandha Khera as Girl and Devanshu Raina as Polonius.
Choreography by Rohit Bains, Lights Designed by Pankaj Sharma, Music by Surinder Singh Manhas and operated by Shubam Singh Nag, makeup by Shammi Dhamir and Yeshvinder Bali and Costumes by Ravinder Sharma, Hempreet Kour, Shivata Saproo.
Tomorrow the ongoing festival will conclude with the performance of Dharmavir Bharti’s Andha Yug.
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