Revenge in the Style of a Thriller: Hamlet's Return to Josefstadt After 70 Years
It is a theatrical event of historical significance: for the first time since 1956, when the legendary Oskar Werner shone in the title role, the "Theater in der Josefstadt" is once again staging Shakespeare's “Hamlet.” But anyone expecting a classic tragedy was proven wrong at the premiere. Director Stephan Müller stages the play as a fast-paced, hard-hitting thriller in which lead actor Claudius von Stolzmann portrays the Danish prince as a “young rebel” bent on causing trouble.
William Shakespeare's “Hamlet” had not been performed at the "Theater in der Josefstadt" for 70 years. / Picture: © Wikimedia Commons; Gryffindor, CC BY-SA 3.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en)
The starting point is familiar and yet timeless: Prince Hamlet returns to Denmark and finds it in ruins. His father is dead, his mother Gertrude (Martina Stilp) has already remarried his uncle Claudius (Daniel Jesch). When his father's ghost appears and accuses him of murder, a struggle for justice begins in a system of corruption and lies.
The production uses Heiner Müller's translation, which emphasizes the famous “rift between two eras.” In this rift, director Müller has his protagonist act like a ‘rowdy’ or a “Rumpelstiltskin on drugs.” Nestroy Award winner Claudius von Stolzmann undergoes a radical image change, transforming from a charming lover to an aggressive warhorse.
“Dune” meets fascist aesthetics
Sophie Lux's visual concept is particularly impressive. With its high ceilings, the stage design is reminiscent of fascist power architecture and evokes associations with modern sci-fi epics such as Denis Villeneuve's “Dune.”
The scenery is complemented by spectacular video projections, such as Johannes Krisch appearing as the ghost of the father in black and white, visually reminiscent of the character Gollum. The projected graveyard lends the production a dark, cinematic depth.
Between crime thriller suspense and depth
While the production is convincing as a “well-constructed crime thriller” and Johanna Mahaffy shines as a modern, self-confident Ophelia and Marcello De Nardo as a quick-witted gravedigger, there are also critical voices. Due to the heavy editing and fast pace of the “crime scene” concept, the great philosophical monologues – above all “To be or not to be” – sometimes lose their footing in the space.
Nevertheless, the experiment seems to have been a success. After three hours of a spiral of violence and revenge, the premiere audience gave enthusiastic applause to an ensemble that radically drags Shakespeare into the present.