The Tragedy of Hamlet, Shakespeare Theatre Company
There are so many things that Suzy Eddie Izzard understands deeply about Hamlet . She uses the title The Tragedy of Hamlet because, as she explains in a brief speech to the audience each night, her career has been founded on comedy and there are no doubt many people who come to her Hamlet looking for a send up; that is not what this is, and the title helps to set audience expectations anew each night. She also understands, of course, that there are heaps of jokes in Hamlet, and to deny their place in an production is to lose half the reason that the story has stayed so paramount in our dramatic tradition (just this week, an informal poll run by the Folger Shakespeare Library chose Hamlet as the winner in a bracket of most popular Shakespeare plays, beating out the comedy Much Ado About Nothing ). Audiences want the humor and the pathos, the one invigorating the other, and a performer who has been on stages and screens for as long as Izzard has understands this we...
