Hamlecchino: Clown Prince of Denmark, Apr 26- May 19
Faction of Fools Theatre Company presents HAMLECCHINO: CLOWN PRINCE OF DENMARK, a Commedia dell'Arte staging of William Shakespeare's Hamlet.
HAMLECCHINO concludes an exciting third season for DC's Commedia dell'Arte company. Faction of Fools presented a critically-acclaimed, sold-out run of A Commedia ROMEO & JULIET. They are also the Helen Hayes Awards recipient of the 2012 John Aniello Award for Outstanding Emerging Theatre Company.
HAMLECCHINO: CLOWN PRINCE OF DENMARK is an energetic, tragi-comic spectacle that pairs the dramatic philosophy of Shakespeare with the physical comedy of Commedia. Shakespeare's poetry meets Faction's foolery!
Tragedy puts "an antic disposition on" as each character from Hamlet is interpreted through the mask, gestures, and mentality of a famous Commedia dell'Arte character. The royal family consists of a put-upon Pulcinella (the Ghost of Hamlet's father), his randy wife Donna Zezza (Queen Gertrude), and a charismatic, interloping Capitano (King Claudius). The royal advisor, a babbling Dottore (Polonius), schemes with his two children, both Lovers (Ophelia and Laertes). The Prince himself becomes "a rogue and peasant slave" as the clownish servant Arlecchino.
Shakespeare's tale is the story of an unlikely revenger who discovers that life does not abide by the simple rules of a Revenge Tragedy. In Faction of Fools' staging, the Arlecchino-style Hamlet does not know whom to trust, how to proceed, or why he has been chosen. He is, simply put, miscast. Dying is easy; comedy is hard... For Hamlecchino, vengeance is nigh impossible!
In HAMLECCHINO, Artistic Director Matthew R. Wilson, one of America's leading experts in Commedia dell'Arte (Constellation's The Green Bird, Folger's The Comedy of Errors, dog & pony's Beertown), directs and plays the title character. Assistant Director Toby Mulford (Faction's R&J, Round House's Amadeus) plays Polonius. Emma Crane Jaster (Theatre J's New Jerusalem, Constellation's The Green Bird) plays an acrobatic Ophelia, while David Gaines (7 [x1] Samurai) singlehandedly embodies the Players in a One-Man "Murder of Gonzago." Shakespearean staples Billy Finn and Eva Wilhelm portray Claudius and Gertrude. John V. Bellomo (Artistic Director, Maryland Shakespeare Festival) is a swash-buckling Laertes. The cast is rounded out by Justin Purvis (WIT) and Rachel Spicknall (Faction, Spotlight Comunicaciones), plus Gallaudet students Marianna Devenow and Amelia Hensley as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern.
The production is set in Europe at the turn of the 20th century when Old World glory is undercut by New World whimsy and World War destruction. The design includes Scenic Design by Gallaudet University Theatre Arts Chair Ethan Sinnott (Imagination's P.Nokio), Lighting Design by three-time Helen Hayes Awards nominee Andrew Griffin (Synetic), Music by Jesse Terrill (Faction's R&J, Constellation's Women Beware Women), and new Masks created specifically for this production by Aaron Cromie (Folger's Two Gentlemen of Verona & Comedy of Errors). Denise Umland (Rep Stage, WSC) designs the Costumes, with Sound by Mehdi Raoufi and Props by Sarah Conte.
For more information, visit www.factionoffools.org/hamlecchino