This past week I crossed another item off my 35 by 35 list!! I went to Bard on the beach and crossed off number 21, see a production of Hamlet on the stage. The production was mind blowing! I have seen many film versions of this tragedy and am well acquainted with the nuances and plot struggles but seeing it live was like seeing it for the first time. The level of energy brought to the stage by the actors was incredible. I always love going to Bard on the Beach and am so happy to have able to have the time to do so.
I love this tragedy because it is a struggle on all fronts, when we first meet Hamlet he has lost his father to an unexpected death and his mother to an all-too-hasty marriage and his crown to his pernicious uncle. He looses the loyalty of friends and faces the death of the woman he loves. His whole world has been taken from him and he struggles to find clarity and sanity and he loses. He was a noble prince and as he draws his final breaths his country is over run and all is lost. It is a bittersweet reminder that life is short and no one ever really has full control. I think I love it because it is a pain that I can identify with, I have lost friends and dreams and have watched as elements of a life I may have wanted slip from my fingers.
There is not an ounce of hope in the whole play which I suppose is why I like it, because it reminds me of the role that hope plays in my daily life and that even a broken and wounded heart can live out a redemptive story. I like it because it reminds me of the power of story. For just as Horatio is left alive and charged to tell Hamlet's story it reminds me that we are to learn from the positive and negative turns of each others stories and propel each other into living a life of intention and understanding.
It is a beautiful tragedy and one that will probably stay with me for many years to come!
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