By Layla Wilson
Writer and Storyteller Alexander Wright brought a new and heartfelt idea to the York International Shakespeare Festival with Hamlet Show. His idea is not a case of conventional theatre performance, where the audience is traditionally distinctly separate from the actors on stage, but is instead a conversation and an interactive discussion between Alex, himself, and members of the community. He explained that he approached this experience with “no expectations,” only a hope that people might “come together and converse about Shakespeare” by applying Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the present, reflecting on the timeless relevance of the play.
The event began with a shared discussion of the group’s understanding and knowledge of Hamlet. Some attendees were well-versed in the play, others – like myself – were less familiar; however, there is a certain beauty in differing understandings and interpretations of the play. Wright created a collective knowledge and understanding of the play through group collaboration, discussing the text, and relating the play to our personal lives and experiences.
Hamlet Show grounded itself in its exploration of how relatable Hamlet still is. We have all likely experienced love, loss, betrayal, friendship, and displacement—experiences that are represented and echo through Shakespeare’s characters. Alex Wright encouraged us to see ourselves within Hamlet, not as distant fiction but as a living representation of humanity.
His approach is relaxed and friendly; however, also infused with a profound sense of insight and thoughtfulness. There were many moments of fun, laughter, and relatability amongst the congregation, yet alongside it were moments of reflection and vulnerability with emphasis on personal and introspective observations. He described the pleasant and comfortable experience of having “tea and some biscuits” and having a “good chat” at this event; however, admitted the importance of community, human interaction and connection, and the fact it is “about us being somewhere together, here and now; it’s about us grappling with our existential place in the world; it’s about us seeing how words give rise to ideas and definitions about ourselves…”
Throughout this event, he discussed some of his own personal experiences – his family members, his childhood, and his own more current thoughts – examining emotional parallels between Hamlet’s grief and confusion and moments from his own life. He would read sections from Hamlet and then reflect, with a real sense of application, on the world we live in today (over 400 years later than when Hamlet was written). These intimate reflections allowed for a sincere and touching insight into why Hamlet still matters and how this play can pertain to our own lives through this reflection. This event isn’t about dissecting the text academically, as such, but about understanding and connecting with Hamlet as a human being and what his inner world might say about our own.
A striking and resonant element of Wright’s discussion is his interaction with Hamlet’s iconically famous soliloquy, to which he asked those who attended to choose between “To Be or Not To Be” – a question that became a running theme as the evening continued. But, as the event drew to a close, he added a third and final option: the option to “Let Be.” The option to accept life as it comes, and to remember the beauties and serendipity that life, memories, and experience have to offer. Once again, his idea seemed not to be one of literary criticism, performance, or academic teaching. Still, instead, it was a discussion and conversation between one another to encourage an application of Shakespeare’s work to ourselves, as human beings.
Hamlet Show is brought to life through passion, vulnerability, and a deeply human lens. All have experienced at least some of what Shakespeare discusses in his play, which is what Wright revealed through his performance and discussion. To be human is to, simply, let be and, in Shakespeare’s own words, “to thine own self be true.”
