Bind.

Shakespeare lives at Douglas:

The play’s the thing

Hamlet sees new life in contemporary adaptation Denmark

By Cody Klyne, Arts Editor

e’ve all had our bad days.
Those days you wake up
late, have a cold shower

because the hot water’s out again,
skip breakfast, and still manage to
miss that all important final exam
(the one you can’t make up). The list
of potentially catastrophic sequences
of events goes on. Those times when
your mind wanders and you get to
thinking. You go to that dark place
that, as a civilized person, you’ve
been trained to repress, to push down,
to swallow back. Those bad thoughts
of angry rage, of madness, of...
revenge.

Okay, so Halloween’s got me in
a bit of a mood for melodrama but,
given the topic of discussion and
source of my inspiration, it seems a
perfectly suitable lead. Shakespeare’s
Hamlet, or, more specifically, its 2010
adaptation, Denmark, live and on
stage at Douglas this November.

A performance presented by
The Departments of Theatre and
Stagecraft & Event Technology,
directed by Stephen Drover (http://
www.poundofflesh.net/), Denmark
will explore The Bard’s timeless tale
of pain, madness, and revenge ina
new light with the following question
at the core of the production’s
premise: what if the story of Hamlet
happened today? So, how do Drover,
cast, and crew plan to modernize a
story that to some, is so intrinsically
tied to storytelling and the English
language itself?

First off, it needs to resonate with
a contemporary audience. ;

Described as being “a bit of
an experiment,” this November’s
production will shift the focus from
royalty to the home and kick to the
curb the gaudier underpinnings that
don’t quite hold the same traction
that they once did with audiences
back in 16" century England (affairs
of state and the Protestant Reform,
for example). And, while the very
mention of tampering with Hamlet's
formula might seem sacrilegious
and raise the hackles of those
traditionalists among us, the modern
twists and plot devices at work here

8

are, seemingly, being applied with a
great sense of respect and ambition.

No castles. No aged titles. Set in
the hypothetical neighbourhood of
Denmark, titular character Hamlet,
played by Josh Ackermann, is poised
to explore the depths of madness
fuelled by a quest for revenge.
Sharing the stage with a full cast
of characters, Hamlet’s step-father,
and uncle, Claudius (David Quast),
Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Andrea
Ashton), Hamlet’s girlfriend Ophelia
(Julia Mauro), along with the ghostly
presence of Hamlet’s deceased
father, (Mike Bortolin), this unique
adaptation is sure to breathe new life
into Shakespeare’s classic tale of
murderous intrigue and maddening
passion.

Denmark runs from November
5" — November 13" in the New West
campus Studio Theatre. Performances
are scheduled to run nightly at
7:30pm, as well as a smattering of
matinees taking place throughout the
week. Tickets are $10.00 for students
with valid ID ($15.00 for general)
and will be available at the door or
through the Massey Ticket Centre
online or at 604-521-5050. So that’s
the bottom-line. Don’t miss your
chance to take in the first of two great
productions running this semester
only at Douglas.

OF THEATRE AND STAGECRAFT

DenmarK

William Shakespeare, adapted by Stepben Drover

Directed by Stephes Drover
Set and lighting design by Kevin McAllister
Sound desiga by Nosh Drew

Costume design by Yaila Shucn

 

   

 

Reader beware, you’re in for a scare!

We list some of the more haunting episodes of the “Goosebumps” series

By Angela Espinoza,
Arts Reviewer

ll right kids, as of now,
we ve listed zombie
flicks and counted down

Halloween songs. With two sides
of the same tombstone uncovered,
your night in should be especially
gruesome. But while Halloween
does bring out our monstrous sides,
we also get feelings of nostalgia.
Trick-or-treating with mom or dad in
those z-grade plastic masks, dragging
those pillowcases as they begin to
sag against the concrete. Part of what
made Halloween so great was that
when you got home, it wasn’t over —
not for our generation anyway.

Way back when, YTV used
to showcase the best of its darker
shows every Halloween. From
“Worst Witch” to “Are You Afraid
of the Dark?” we’d stay up for
hours, sorting candy and getting a
few scares in before bed. But of all
the horror-themed shows, I think
the one that actually frightened
and entertained me the most was
“Goosebumps” (1995-1998). That’s
right, you remember; the R.L. Stine
children’s book series adapted for
television. Over a decade later, I still
remember the episodes that really
terrified me, despite the lame acting
and predictable plotlines.

In third place is “Stay Out of
the Basement”, written in 1992 and
adapted as a two-part episode in
1996. The story tells of Casey and
Margaret, a brother and sister whose
botanist father begins acting distant
after losing his job. His mood swings
go from one extreme to the next, but
it’s not because of stress folks. Their
father’s experiments have taken a life
of their own (because as we all know,
plants aren’t alive), and then we
enter Invasion of the Body Snatchers
territory. This story was a bit more
realistic in portraying the breakdown
of a family, but with a sci-fi twist.
It was relatable for anyone who felt
their parents didn’t spend enough
time with them. The production value
feels like I’m watching Troll 2 of
course, but it’s got a few excellent
suspense moments.

Second place goes to another
two-parter, possibly the most well

   

known and ironically the first episode
of the series, “The Haunted Mask’.
Adapted from the eleventh book, it
tells the tale of Carly Beth Cladwell,
who is constantly being bullied at
school. With Halloween coming up,
she decides to exact her revenge by
scaring the bullies. After finding

the perfect mask, she steals it, and

it gradually becomes part of her.
Definitely one of the better-acted
episodes, if you only ever saw one,
it had to be “The Haunted Mask”.
Nearly everyone was able to relate
to the concept of trying to fit in, or at
least, seeking a little revenge — but
we’d never go this far, right?

Now for number one, this
episode pretty much traumatized
me. Not necessarily because of the
plot, but if “The Haunted Mask”
is the most popular episode, than
Slappy the Dummy is the most
iconic character. “Night of the Living
Dummy II” was adapted from the
second Slappy book, about a young
girl named Amy who receives Slappy
as a gift from her parents. But if you
all remember, you know that Slappy
is an evil little doll that could give
Chucky a run for his money. The
concept is brilliant in that a child
always turns to their toys, «o to have
that toy try and kill you is a tad
unsettling.

Those are my top three
“Goosebumps” episodes, and I hope
I was able to remind you of better
times during mid-term season. It
may not have been the best show
on television, but it spoke to us in
a whole new way. Do yourselves a
favour this Halloween and go track
down your favourite episodes.