Posted on 09/15/2005 1:51:00 PM PDT by nickcarraway
SARAJEVO (Reuters) - Hamlet has become a Muslim prince at the Ottoman court in an adaptation of Shakespeare's tragedy which its Bosnian director says reflects the world after the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States.
In possibly the biggest theater co-production the war-torn Balkans region has seen in some 20 years, Haris Pasovic is seeking to put "Hamlet" into a 21st Century setting.
"One of the most important issues of the 21st century is the world's increased understanding of the Muslim issue following the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York," Pasovic, himself a Bosnian Muslim, told Reuters in an interview this week.
"I think the Muslim world today is facing the question: 'To be or not to be?', and I don't mean metaphysically," he said before the show's premiere late on Wednesday in Sarajevo.
Sarajevo-born Pasovic was among the most prominent theater directors in the then-Socialist Yugoslavia, living and working in Belgrade before Bosnia's 1992-95 war.
But after the Bosnian capital was besieged by Bosnian Serb forces, he decided to return to his native city while almost everyone else was trying to leave for fear of being killed.
Actors from Bosnia, Croatia, France, Serbia and Montenegro, Slovenia, Spain and Turkey took part in the co-production, the first time the ex-Yugoslav cities of Zagreb and Belgrade have jointly backed a project since Yugoslavia broke up in the 1990s.
Pasovic is renowned for his experimental approach to theater. In 2002 he staged a post-modernist interpretation of Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet" in front of the bombed out parliament building in central Sarajevo.
This time he chose the Ottoman court for its resemblance to Shakespeare's Danish one, where characters vie bloodily against one another for control over the throne and the court's affairs.
The play, set in obviously Eastern, though minimalist scenery, is visually striking with colourful costumes and mystical music performed live on stage.
It was well received in Sarajevo, a traditionally multi-ethnic city dominated by moderate Muslims since the war.
Just as Ottoman princes wore undershirts embroidered with Islamic prayers before they went into battle, Pasovic's Hamlet wears an undershirt on which the line "To be, or not to be -- that is the question" is printed in Arabic script.
"That undershirt is important because it is like a human skin. I think that every serious man today must wear the question 'To be, or not to be?'," Pasovic said.
And so a story in a Christian setting, in which the hero questions the injustices of the world and his own personal tragedy, can just as well apply to Muslims.
"Hamlet is a universal story that concerns us all," Pasovic said. "These issues do not concern only Muslims, but all people equally, showing that we all share the same problems regardless of religion, nation and culture."
Let me know if you want to be added to the list.
WTF?
There hasn't been a Muslim prince at an Ottoman court since 1924 at the absolute latest.
That's big of him. Maybe some day some Christian director will go wild and stage Hamlet as if it took place in 16th Century England. That would be daring.
A remarkably stupid idea.
Hamlet's tragic flaw--which is not actually hesitation, but presumption, the desire to damn Claudius, to which he as a mere man has no right, rather than just kill him, to which as an heir whose throne was usurped he has every right--makes not sense in an Islamic context, where deliberately damning (according to their lights) apostates, 'infidels' and the like is perfectly acceptable.
Depends on what you mean by "usurped." In the sense that Claudius murdered his Brother it was an usurpation, but his actual election as king would not have been an usurpation by the Danish system. cf Harold Jenkins.
Maybe some day some Christian director will go wild and stage Hamlet as if it took place in 16th Century England. That would be daring.
Well, if you're referring to the original context, it was set in Denmark and only written in 17th century England.
The genius of Shakespeare is that he speaks to all cultures. Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet was set in the 19th Century, and didn't suffer at all for having been moved by 200 years.
I don't see any problem with this production. If you don't like it, there are plenty of productions in a more traditional setting (including some in "Original Pronunciation," a revival of the dialect Shakespeare and the other actors actually used on stage). More than enough for everybody.
If you're one of those who insist that the plays always be done in their original context and costume, why? Shakespeare didn't do that. He updated his stories to what was then modern dress. Unless you think they had doublets in the first century BC....
Nah, I'm not one of those philistines. All I was reacting to was this Muslim director reassuring us that Hamlet "isn't just for Muslims." I found that incongruous and amusing. Like saying, "Hey, the Koran isn't just for Baptists."
For a newbie, you sure try to pick fights with a lot of people. From your previous posts, I'm still trying to figure out where you agree with the Right.
Most interesting! I greatly admire modern adaptations of Shakespeare, most notably Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet film from the mid-90's.
Please enlighten us. How does staging a Shakespearean tragedy advace Islamist goals?
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