Hamlet - Mercury News Review

Review: Everybody gets to be Hamlet in free Berkeley park production

In this adaptation conceived and directed by Subterranean Shakespeare founder Stanley Spenger, only a few handful of actors actually hand off the role for entire scenes. The rest of the performers join in on the soliloquies and other speeches, not speaking in unison but trading off lines as if Hamlet is having a conversation with himself.

A few years ago, Actors Ensemble did a “Falstaff” in which the performers kept switching off as not just Falstaff but most other roles as well, which made it hard to keep track of who was playing whom. In this “Hamlet,” the device works remarkably well and isn’t at all confusing when you’ve been told in advance that that’s what’s happening. However, it might be perplexing for someone wandering in late to the free outdoor show at John Hinkel Park. (After its Berkeley run, it also plays July 27 and 28 in the Shops at Hilltop Mall in Richmond.)

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