Of fathers and sons

The background of the upcoming adaptation of Hamlet’s Clouds by Eugenio Barba is the death of William Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, aged merely 11. Five years later, his father wrote Hamlet, whose name echoes that of his lost son. The central theme is a reflection on what our fathers bequest us and on what we will be able to bequeath our sons. The subtitle is quite eloquent: dedicated to Hamnet and to futureless youths. An unusual Hamlet, where it is Ophelia wondering to be or not to be? and where, in possible reference to Aristophanes and his mistrust of sophists, we shall find philosophical reflections such as follows: “You see that cloud in the distance? It looks like a camel. My word! It really is a camel! Or maybe a weasel. The shape is that of a weasel, indeed. Almost like a while. Precisely like a shale. It is the nightly hour when graveyards yawn and hell breaths its evil onto the world.”
To be noticed, and appreciated, is the essential contribution of lights and videos by Stefano Di Buduo. Eugenio Barba steals a line from his teacher, Grotowski, about how actor is just another word for person, nothing more, and from Macbeth: “Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player / That struts and frets his hour upon the stage / And then is heard no more: it is a tale / Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, / Signifying nothing.”

Featured image: Hamlet’s Clouds – Photo Stefano di Buduo