KRISP VISUALS
Colin Pieters plays the title character in “Hamlet” at Art House Productions in Jersey City.
“To be, or not to be” may still be the question. But in Art House Productions’ unconventional retelling of William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet,” running through Oct. 26 in Jersey City’s Powerhouse Arts District, it is not Hamlet who asks it.
Having another character deliver the tragedy’s most iconic soliloquy is just one of the many creative liberties director C. Rashee Stevenson takes in this innovative production. The staging blurs lines of gender, race and era, even weaving in text from Jean Genet and Federico García Lorca. While the story remains rooted in Elsinore Castle, Denmark, and retains the original language, the visual world is distinctly modern. The set pieces are reminiscent of an IKEA catalog, and the cast’s costumes evoke the casual, eclectic energy of comedians at a Comedy Store improv night.
Queen Gertrude appears in a white bathrobe and bunny ears, Polonius dons a clownish wig and a bargain suit, and King Claudius — dressed in shorts, a baseball cap, and socks with sandals — resembles a Disney World tourist more than a villainous monarch.
Despite these radical changes, the core reason audiences attend “Hamlet” remains: to witness Hamlet himself. Guyanese-born actor Colin Pieters excels as the tormented prince, delivering a powerful and charismatic performance. Often bare-chested in industrial overalls, Pieters navigates Shakespeare’s dialogue with both dynamic physicality and deep emotional resonance. His Hamlet feigns madness with cunning, moves energetically across the stage, and even delivers a new speech on workers’ rights — one of Stevenson’s many script adaptations. Pieters’ delivery of Shakespeare’s poetic language is fluid and rhythmic, a quality not all of his castmates share.
KRISP VISUALS
Colin Pieters and Jessie Kenner Tidball in “Hamlet.”
The supporting cast and character interpretations are equally unconventional. Art House Productions’ theater, resembling a black-walled university lecture hall, features a bare performance space with the audience seated on risers. The absence of amplification and frequently quiet dialogue, combined with persistent background music (the sound design is by Stevenson), sometimes makes it challenging to catch every word.
Max Katz’s King Claudius is particularly hard to hear and, being close in age to Hamlet, intentionally lacks regality. Jessie Kenner Tidball’s Ophelia is portrayed as drab and mousy, while Ashley Escoffery’s Queen Gertrude is vacant — neither a partner in nor a victim of Claudius’s schemes. Elena Lozonschi plays both Horatio and Laertes, confusingly in the same costume for both roles. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern show up, but not as we’ve ever seen them — excuse me, her (Laura Hajek) — before.
A highlight of the production is Hannah Jane Ginsberg’s performance as “The Actor.” She transforms Hamlet’s play-within-a-play into a one-person showcase that is by turns comedic, musical and dramatic. Ginsberg later returns as the Gravedigger, sharing a moving scene with Hamlet.
KRISP VISUALS
Jacob Ready and Colin Pieters in “Hamlet.”
While the first half of the play closely follows the original, the conclusion veers into territory more reminiscent of The Marx Brothers than The Bard. The expected tragic outcome remains — everyone still dies — but the message about the self-destructive nature of revenge is diluted by a finale filled with anarchy, machine guns, and a hammer in place of Laertes’ poisoned sword.
The result is a production that leaves the audience wondering: Is this “Hamlet,” or a modern psychotic fantasy inspired by it?
Whether you consider it innovative, experimental or simply weird, Art House Productions’ offers a captivating and unconventional night of theater. Pieters’ standout performance alone makes it well worth attending.
Just don’t expect John Gielgud’s “Hamlet.”
Art House Productions in Jersey City will present “Hamlet” through Oct. 26; visit arthouseproductions.org.
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