DENMARKED by Carina Gaspar. Annex Theatre. July 4 at 9 pm, July 6 at noon, July 7 at 1:45 pm, July 9 at 4 pm. Buy tickets. Rating: NNN
Carina Gaspar’s solo clown show explores elements of Shakespeare’s Hamlet from intriguing new perspectives, but at times the action is a little slow and cryptic.
Gaspar’s clown Tweed is introverted, stressed-out and eternally pessimistic, which makes for a good paring with the dark source material – especially when we get her take on Yorick’s skull.
The flipside is that at times, especially in the beginning, the slow pace and long silences can be distracting. A more engaging opening that lets the audience know the scope of the performance (are we getting a full version of Hamlet, condensed, or just snippets?) would go a long way here.
