Taking on the title role in William Shakespeare's Hamlet is a daunting prospect for any actor. For Alex Weenink, the news that he had been cast as the troubled Prince of Denmark in MADC's upcoming production was met with a fitting mix of emotions.
"I was excited, honoured, but scared, naturally," he recalls. "I was at a cast party for another show. This news was a fitting way to top off what had been a pretty intense week."
This July, due to ongoing renovation works at its traditional home at San Anton Gardens, MADC's annual outdoor Shakespeare production moves to the historic surroundings of Msida Bastion Historic Garden in Floriana. The new venue provides a striking backdrop for one of Shakespeare's most enduring tragedies - and is particularly suited to a play so preoccupied with mortality and the supernatural. "It's a play about death and ghosts in an actual historical graveyard." Weenink notes. "We're doing the infamous gravedigger scene surrounded by 19th century gravestones. It doesn't get much more atmospheric than that."
The play follows Hamlet, who learns that his uncle, Claudius, has murdered his father and seized the throne. As he wrestles with grief, revenge and questions of morality, Hamlet is drawn into a spiral of deception, betrayal and ultimately, tragedy.
While Hamlet is often remembered for his famous soliloquies and philosophical reflections, Weenink sees him as a deeply human character. "Hamlet is a good soul, albeit troubled, reckoning with his own limits in real time, in conversation with the audience. I love his line: 'I essentially am not in madness, but mad in craft'. Grief affects people in mysterious ways, sometimes very intensely. Add to that the heartbreak, betrayal, loneliness and an eroding sense of self-worth, and the line between actual madness and emotional desperation blurs," he says. "Bringing to life the different ways Hamlet presents himself - to the audience, to his family, to his lover, to himself - has been an exciting challenge."
He attributes the story's enduring appeal to the immediacy in the storytelling. "Shakespeare's plays weren't built for the classroom, but for the stage - epic, big-hearted, emotional, live storytelling for us all to experience together."
Guiding the production is director and designer Michael Mangion, whose interpretation offers a fresh perspective on Shakespeare's classic tragedy. "Michael's vision is brave and exciting," says Weenink. "It isolates Hamlet even further and focuses on the wicked power play between the family members."
The strong ensemble cast also features Stephen Oliver as Claudius and veteran actor Manuel Cauchi voicing the Ghost. Joining them is Larissa Bonaci, Bernard Zammit, Jeremy Paul Grech, Eoin Kennedy, Maya Micallef Engerer, James Sultana, Jonathan Scicluna and Sarah Farrugia, with sequences choreographed by the renowned Moveo Dance Company and featuring Moveo dancers Anna Friedrich, Edmilson Zammit and Pablo Daniel Silva Gonçalves.
For Weenink, the strength of Hamlet rests on the cast's connection to their individual characters. "The ensemble is the production," he says. "It's one of Shakespeare's best plays because each character is layered and complex - each on their own moral journey."
Over 400 years after it was first performed, Hamlet continues to enthrall audiences around the world. "It's the play of all plays for a reason," adds Weenink. "Beyond the endless academic analyses and hot takes, it is exciting because it has all the things that make storytelling exciting - ghosts and murder, sex and sword fights, betrayal and revenge. Add to all this, complex explorations of death, life, morality and love? Yeah," he grins, "I think Hamlet will be performed for another four centuries and more."
MADC's production of Hamlet by William Shakespeare performs at Msida Bastion Historic Garden, Vincenzo Dimech Street, Floriana, at 8.30pm on 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26 and 27 July (no performance on 22 July). This production is suitable for audiences aged 12 and over. Tickets available at www.madc.com.mt.