6533b7d7fe1ef96bd1268420

RESEARCH PRODUCT

Theatrical Self-Reflexivity in Gregory Doran's Hamlet (2009)

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Este articulo tratara sobre la meta-teatralidad en la pelicula Hamlet de Gregory Doran (2009). Esta pelicula esta basada en una produccion escenica de la Royal Shakespeare Company presentada en el Courtyard Theatre (Stratford-upon-Avon) y el Novello Theatre (Londres). Contra los permanentes prejuicios que critican la fusion entre la puesta teatral y la pequena pantalla, Doran y el equipo creativo de Illuminations Media optan por sacar partido de las naturalezas opuestas de las artes teatrales y cinematograficas. Los resultados de esta decision creativa se manifiestan en forma de representacion hibrida para television. La pelicula se ha rodado en un espacio acondicionado con el proposito de evocar los origenes teatrales de la propuesta. De este modo, la colision entre estos dos lenguajes —teatro y cine— es precisamente lo que constituye el elemento de mayor interes en la pelicula mucho mas alla de lo que pueda significar a nivel formal. De hecho, la aproximacion de David Tennant al personaje de Hamlet en esta pelicula implica que el heroe eponimo trate de enfrentarse a sus frustraciones a traves del arte dramatico. Sin embargo, Hamlet no concilia la naturaleza ludica del teatro con sus otros mas rigurosos aspectos. Como consecuencia, el heroe flirtea con el lenguaje del cine, sobrecargando asi su impulso artistico. La incapacidad de Hamlet para emplear estos codigos provoca el empeoramiento de las propias percepciones del personaje. La naturaleza del error de Hamlet no necesariamente radica en la eleccion que hace del drama para su propia salvacion sino en la forma que tiene de comprometerse con la actividad dramatica. This article deals with the metatheatrical concerns in Gregory Doran’s Hamlet (2009). This film derives from an RSC stage production presented at the Courtyard Theatre (Stratford-upon-Avon) and the Novello Theatre (London).1 In opposition to the standing prejudices against the possibility of filming plays on the small screen, Doran and the creative team of Illuminations Media embrace the opposed natures of theatre and film. The result of such creative decision is materialized in the form of a hybrid television performance. The film has been shot in a type of location that has been re-furbished to purposefully evoke its stage origins. In this sense, the collision between these two languages —theatre and film— precisely constitutes the highest point of interest in the film far beyond its mere formal implications. In fact, David Tennant’s approach to performing Hamlet in this film consistently operates on the idea of the eponymous hero trying to fight his frustrations through dramatic art. However, Hamlet does not reconcile the playful nature of drama with its other more rigorous aspects. As a consequence, the hero toys with film, thus overcomplicating his artistic drive. Hamlet’s inability to handle either of these codes derives into worsening the character’s perceptions of himself. The nature of Hamlet’s failure is not necessarily in the choosing of drama as a means of self-preservation but the ways through which he engages in dramatic activity.