The Denver Center Theater Company opened its new season with a bold reimagining of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet." Directed by Chris Coleman, this production promises to breathe new life into one of the Bard's most celebrated tragedies.
Coleman brings a unique perspective to the play, having twice portrayed the titular character earlier in his career. This experience, enhanced with time, has given him fresh insights into the complexities of the story.
"Living life can change your view of something that you felt like you knew intimately," Coleman reflected. "And so at this point in my journey, revisiting it was like a revelation.”
Coleman joined the Denver Center Theatre Company as artistic director in November 2017, after 18 years as director of the Portland Center Stage. He founded Actor's Express in Atlanta in 1988 and has directed at prominent theaters nationwide, including the Oregon Shakespeare Festival and the New York Theater Workshop.
"When you're playing Hamlet, there are whole scenes that happen in the play that you never hear because you're off stage or you're focused on getting ready for your next entrance," he explained. The new vantage point allowed him to discover "how much more political the story is" than he had realized.
While it's common to see more mature actors tackle the role due to its emotional complexity and demanding nature, Coleman argues that his casting of a younger actor, Ty Fanning, as Hamlet is truer to the heart of the story.
"The story is about a young man who is not ready for the destiny that comes knocking at his door," Coleman said. "He is, by all understandings, the heir to the throne. His father dies suddenly and he comes home and his uncle is on the throne. And so to me, the whole journey of the play is about him growing into an awareness of a readiness for the responsibility that the universe has brought to him … "
“A 45-year-old who doesn't understand the responsibilities of political leadership... it just feels like a very different story to me." This interpretation offers a fresh perspective on Hamlet's internal conflicts.
While many contemporary Shakespeare productions opt for modern settings, Coleman has taken a different approach. Drawing inspiration from historical research, he's created a world that blends elements of Viking culture with early European Christianity.
"What if we were making up our own version of a world that was inspired by the Danish Empire in 1200 A.D., which would've been still very steeped in Viking history, but it is Christianizing and it is European?" he said.
This unique setting allows the production to highlight the political intrigue and dangerous atmosphere of the play. Coleman even gave a specific directive to the costume designer: "Everybody in this play, man, woman, whatever, should look like they could go into battle in half an hour."
The director is particularly excited about the cast he's assembled for this production. "I don't want to jinx it, but I do think it's one of the strongest acting companies I've ever worked with," Coleman said.
He attributes this partly to the draw of the play itself. "If you're an actor who loves Shakespeare and you have a lot of experience with Shakespeare, getting to be in the play is a treat."
For those who might think of "Hamlet" as slow-paced or overly somber, Coleman emphasizes the play's dynamic rhythm and varied emotional landscape.
"It's fascinating to kind of watch it from the director's seat because you realize one of the reasons it has such staying power – its kind of pulse, its rhythm is so brilliantly imagined," he said.
"It will go from something that feels very political, where you're watching machinations, to something heartfelt and then something silly, and then it'll be something very scary and dangerous."
This production of "Hamlet" aims to strike a balance between honoring the timeless elements of Shakespeare's text and offering a fresh perspective that will resonate with contemporary audiences. By focusing on the youth of the protagonist, emphasizing the political aspects of the story and creating a visually striking world that blends historical influences, Coleman and the Denver Center team hope to create a play that feels both familiar and revelatory.
Hamlet plays at the Denver Center Theatre Company through October 6 in the Wolf Theatre.
