Author: Elizabeth A. Harris / Source: New York Times
Sensorium
Hamlet is in a bathtub with water up to his neck delivering “To be, or not to be.” Look to your right and you’ll see his mother, Gertrude, in her bedroom putting on makeup. Look in the distance, and you’ll see Laertes, practicing with his sword.
And if you look to your left, you will see your own reflection in a gilded mirror. You will appear haggard, bloody, ferocious and, in fact, dead. Because in this virtual reality version of Shakespeare, you are the ghost of Hamlet’s murdered father.
That version, “Hamlet 360: Thy Father’s Spirit,” is a joint production of two very different outfits: Commonwealth Shakespeare Company, which is known for staging free Shakespeare on Boston Common, and the tech giant Google. Its creators hope that beyond the fresh experience it provides, it will also serve as a tool to bring great theater to wider audiences — and bring bigger audiences to theater.
“This allows us to scale up our mission on the Boston Common,” said Steven Maler, the director of the film and the founding artistic director of the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company. “This allows us to scale that mission to the world and truly democratize Shakespeare and theater.”
Other theater productions have played with new and immersive technologies in recent years. The National Theater in London and the National Film Board Canada produced “Draw Me Close: A Memoir,” which uses virtual reality and motion capture to bring the audience into a character’s memories. A one-man show called “The Encounter” handed out earphones and used sound in a way that was central to the storytelling — characters seemed suddenly to be right beside you. The Royal Shakespeare Company mounted a production of “The Tempest” that used motion capture to create an onstage digital avatar of the spirit Ariel.
“Hamlet 360” was released Friday by WGBH, a PBS member station in Boston. It will be hosted on the station’s YouTube page, where it can be watched in 3-D using a V.R. headset or in two dimensions on a desktop or mobile device. The budget for the film was roughly similar to what the Commonwealth Shakespeare Company spends each year on its Boston Common productions, which is about $500,000. Mr. Maler declined to say how much was paid by Google.
At just 61 minutes, this “Hamlet” is both extremely long by the standards of virtual reality and extremely short by the standards of “Hamlet.” Mr. Maler said that in order to mercilessly slice it down — while also creating a satisfying story — he laser-focused on Hamlet’s relationship with his father.
The film plays out in a single location, at the center of a large, run-down hall with a stage to one side. It is a cavernous room outfitted with lamps, a collection of shabby and ornate furniture, a patchwork of rugs…
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