Hamlet (part 2)

Hey everyone, I know I said I'd do Les Mis next (which is in the drafting process!) but I thought I'd do a quick Hamlet part 2 one as I went to see it at the cinema live event yesterday. I was at the City Screen cinema in York.

I really enjoyed the event and it was nice for me to watch the audience's reactions in the cinema as I assume most were seeing it for the first time unlike me. It was also interesting to hear the audience's reactions in the theatre as I noticed that different parts made the audience there laugh more than they did on the night I was there, yet we laughed more at other things. Some were pretty equal (the grave makers scene comes to mind). I guess that shows you that all audiences are different really. It was also nice to see it with different camera angles rather than just one view as you get in the theatre, even though our seats were really good.

I was able to remember a lot of it, (obviously not the words!) in particular I remembered when all of the comical scenes and soliloquies were coming up, which possibly suggests that they were the ones that had the biggest impact on me. I think that as I knew what was happening a bit more, I was able to focus on the words which the actors and actresses were saying during in their soliloquies a lot more and some of the more intense conversations, which to be honest I couldn't even remember some. I was surprised at this as I actually enjoyed them when I was listening to the words closely this time, in particular the scenes with Ophelia and the Queen interacting which we both got a bit bored in at the theatre, maybe it was because you could see their facial expressions a bit more due to the camera angles. I think I listened to Hamlet's words a lot more as when I was in the theatre I think I was just a bit overwhelmed at seeing Benedict right in front of me and was still getting used to seeing him there for quite a bit of the play.

The one part that I didn't like as much was the bit with the play and Hamlet's reactions (where he keeps interrupting!). I think that worked a lot better in the theatre as it felt more like you were watching the play with the characters and we were able to watch Hamlet's reactions all the way through a lot better. However, I liked that I was able to watch the scenes done upstairs a lot better as in the theatre where we were sitting it was quite hard to see them as we had to look up in an awkward position to see them. The sword fighting scenes were nice to see on camera as well as it gave me a different angle to see them from. I heard that people liked how the camera zoomed in a lot on Benedict's facial expressions, as he is really good at those. I liked them as well, but it wasn't that new for me as we were sitting so close in the theatre it kind of made no difference to me, but I love sitting near the front to watch their expressions and little movements so it was nice that lots of people could see Benedict's on the screen.

To be honest, my opinions on the cast didn't change that much, I warmed to Ophelia a bit more, I think she did really well, but I still didn't really like Horatio or Hamlet's friends that much. I think that the King and Queen were actually better than I remember, especially the King, his soliloquies came across really intense actually and I think I was more focused watching them than I was at the theatre.

I think that the set was much more effective live in the theatre. It did look big on the screen, especially when the cameras zoomed out. However, I don't think it looked as big as it really is, or the part that goes back looked as long on screen as it was in real life. The rubble and things looked better live as well, but it still looked really good on screen. I think this was because on screen we were looking down on it a lot, whereas at the theatre I was only looking up, so it seemed a lot bigger and that there was more rubble on the stage than it did on screen. I liked the end of the first half much better in the theatre as well as the sound and scale of the special effects and things was much more powerful sitting right in front of it. At the theatre lots of people jumped as well, where as no one did in the cinema which possibly suggests the audience in the theatre felt as though they were in the scene more and it was a lot louder and more shocking.  Overall, the sound effects were much more effective in the theatre for me as you could literally feel the vibrations and everything. When Benedict was shouting (or talking very loud) in Hamlet's angry and powerful moments, everyone in the cinema was gripped, but I preferred it live as it was unbelievable how Benedict's voice filled the room, after he had finished, you couldn't help but say 'Wow'. Again, there were some minor sound issues e.g. sound went off for a second and it was hard to hear some characters for a few words. Overall though, it looks like they sorted most of the sound issues that we had at the theatre and you could hear the cast when they were at the back of the stage more.

Overall, I am glad that I went along and re-lived my experience. I did prefer it at the theatre, which is pretty obvious as there is nothing better than live theatre and it was unbelievable for me to see one of my favourite actors live. It also allows you to feel as though you are with the characters more and you get the full impact of the set and sound effects etc. more.  The cast and crew did an amazing job and I can't even begin to imagine how nerve racking the whole thing must have been! Congratulations to all involved! Get to an encore screening if you can, there's loads happening all across the UK that I know of and probably around the world!

They gave us these mini-programmes (sorry it's folded, I only had a small bag with me!)

Extra: I've noticed that I get asked this question a lot, so I thought that I'd answer it on here! Basically, as a Sherlock fan, I get asked who is my favourite, Benedict or Martin, a lot and now I've seen them both live, lots of people ask who I preferred live and did it change who my favourite is.

Obviously, they are both very different actors and I love them both for different reasons. In Sherlock, my favourite actor is actually Rupert Graves, I love his character and he just seems like a really nice guy. Lots of people never guess this, the only person that really knows is my little sister who gets me anything Lestrade related that she can (p.s. they need to make more Lestrade stuff!)! 

Anyway, my favourite is actually Martin. I think I like the roles that he plays more and he is a better comic actor, which is what I prefer. I think he puts his own personality into a  lot of his roles which is nice and he gets involved with how the character would react to situations and adds his own take on things. I like that he has worked his way up and didn't go to posh schools or things which lots of the big actors nowadays did. He's always angry about something and sarcastic about things, which I get told I am a lot like, so maybe I am drawn a bit more to him because of his personality and the roles he chooses! Obviously I love Benedict and I like the more serious roles that he takes like Alan Turing, rather than the action movies, which I don't enjoy watching. My sister prefers Benedict as I think she likes Sherlock's character better than John, whereas I prefer John. 

I hate to admit it, but I actually preferred Benedict live. He got so into the role of Hamlet and I think the production allowed him to do this more. He was so good in his soliloquies and the amount of emotion he put into his voice and actions was so incredible, it is so hard to describe. He did really well in the comic moments as well, better than I thought he would,  I think he used lots of things from Sherlock as I recognised lots of expressions or actions from that. The way his voice filled the room when he was angry was unbelievable and I can't believe he still hasn't lost his voice. I think you could tell that Benedict had done more theatre recently as he seemed very comfortable there. Martin was very good at the comic scenes as expected and his facial expressions were brilliant. I think that Hamlet possibly gave Benedict more of a chance to display anger and these big emotional soliloquies compared to Richard III were more effective and allowed him to stretch himself as an actor. Both managed to command the stage and it was a close call. Maybe I preferred Hamlet to Richard III, I'm not sure, which I would find hard to admit as a member of the Richard III society!  However, I still prefer Martin overall and I would love to see him live in something else again! Therefore, our house is still split over who the best actor is!

Let me know who your favourite between the two is and why and who is your favourite in Sherlock, I'd be interested to know!

Les Mis will be next, give me a few days as it's my birthday today and I'm having the weekend with my family!