inclusive nature of the production. The relationship between the stage and the audience was, in my opinion, the most interesting aspect of this Hamlet. Terry entered the stage in tears for her 'To be, or not to be' monologue. She walked to the very edge of the stage, sat, and took a spectator's hand in hers. She spoke to that man. Everyone in the audience turned to look at them, and the silence that followed was moving. The camera filmed the stranger, and I found myself simultaneously watching the audience and the actress.There was a double level of spectating: I was a viewer looking at spectators who were looking at Terry and her improvised partner.The directors chose not to stage The Mousetrap scene, keeping only the dumbshow. Instead, they replaced it with music (composer James Maloney), played by the Globe's band from the second gallery facing the stage. The King and the Queen sat facing the audience, Ophelia and Polonius stood beside them while Hamlet paced back and forth, and they all pretended to watch the play-within-the-play, when actually watching the band. This arrangement solved the issue that directors often experience when trying both to stage The Mousetrap and to draw attention to King Claudius's reactions. This often leads them to present the scene from one side or to find a cunning way to avoid having actors turning their backs to the audience. When the musicians started playing and the actors looked in their direction, the camera's wide angle shot showed spectators following their gaze. As they turned their confused faces towards the gallery where the band was playingwhich was where the camera stood -I watched the Globe's audience looking towards me, making me feel totally included. The camera acted as a chorusas Ophelia would call Hamletand established a connection between actors, their live audience, and future online viewersof whom I was one.The collective work that went into conveying a sense of community was probably the most interesting aspect of this production, which reflected Shakespeare's own inclusive sense of the audience in his plays. Yet, Hamlet revolves around the protagonist's most intimate thoughts, and the swift pace and frenzied acting somehow diminished his paramount importance. Overall, Holmes and While emphasised the importance of the actor-spectator bond, and the directorial choices for the filming of this production certainly managed to integrate both the spectator and the viewer. This Hamlet may not be my most memorable theatre-going experience; nevertheless, it left me with a sense of generosity that is all too often absent from theatre productions.
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