Hamlet without dialogue

by Gwen Herat

Try explaining the gist of character dialogue in action to a theatre goer who is not familiar with Shakespeare's works. Let alone dialogue even a scene danced will confuse him. Yet, Shakespeare drama is danced magnificently well into perfect ballet exactly as Shakespeare wrote.

And now without dialogue!

Impossible, irresistible and incredible; but the dance was spectacularly perfect. Though Romeo and Juliet had been danced more often than the rest, I think Hamlet is by far ahead histrionically danced without uttering a single 'dialogue.’ Hamlet is legendary, historical in places with a strong drama within a drama. It is more difficult to dance Ophelia than Juliet. Like Hamlet who has to take on many guises such as of a truant lover, a prince and a vengeance-seeker Romeo is only a love-struck youth.

Hamlet (Nureyev) with his Queen mother and the King, his uncle in a tense scene.

Meticulously danced by Rudolf Nureyev who brought in more spirit and candour to the role of Hamlet than when he danced Romeo, Nureyev had the ability to switch on to the changing scenes one after the other in the dignity of a man who is ready to betray his ardour to an innocent trusting girl.

Not many ballets based on famous plays have been successful because the amount of 'plot’ or 'story’ one can convey in dance is limited. But it had been different with Hamlet whose play was originally produced, choreographed and danced by Robert Helpmann with Margot Fonteyn dancing Ophelia. But Helpmann's ballet succeeded because instead of trying to dance the play, he provided a few glimpses of what might have gone through Hamlet's mind as he was dying.

For in that sleep of death many dreams may have come. Most of the incidents of the drama were shown but often muddled and distorted with one character merging into another. Helpmann was the first to dance Hamlet. More recently the ballet which was revived especially for Rudolf Nureyev was a smashing success. His Ophelia was Lynn Seymour.

Hamlet is unique whether danced or acted. Both can retain the Shakespeare aura with dialogue or not. Both can unfurl the magnitude of its vastness and depth without a single line spoken.

Excitement

As Hamlet moves forward in sequences of astonishment, unfailing and however familiar, the play endures mostly though for excitement, it has more significance to man than woman because in every man there is at least a trace of Hamlet in him. And those women who have realised this look for their brand of Hamlets in them. Thus everything said, how do choreographers meet up with this situation of presenting Hamlet without dialogue which is the power behind the drama? Take a look at these expressions uttered by Hamlet: 'The time is out of joint. O cursed spite / That ever I was born to set it right’ (1.5)

Hamlet; 'I did love you once.’ Hamlet (Rudolf Nureyev) with Ophelia (Lynn Seymors) dances with her as he remembers his happy times with her.

(This with its 1,530 lines in the uncut text is the longest in Shakespeare Soliloquies.

'O this is too solid flesh would make melt (1.2)
'O what a rogue and a pleasant slave am I’ (11.2)
'To be or not to be’ (111.1)
'How all occasions do inform against me’ (IV.4)

'Get thee to a nunnery; why wouldst thou be a breeder of sinners? I am myself indifferent, honest; but yet I could accuse me of such things that it were better my mother had not borne me; I am very proud, revengeful and ambitious with more offences at my back than I have thoughts to put them in, imagination to give them shape or time to act them in. What should such fellows as I do crawling between earth and heaven? We are errant knaves, all believe none of us. Go thy way to a nunnery.’ (111.1)

Thespians

Leaving alone dancing these powerful statements, even thespians on stage find in enormously beyond their grasp to act them. These actors depend on the dialogue rather than acting to convey the story but dancers have it easier; they do not have to memorise 'dialogue’ but rather depend on music to convey the acts. Choreographers used to fight one another to provide the best sound track for Hamlet and used the scores of Masters of the past.

The ballets were far and many. The first Hamlet had the music of Tchaikovsky in 1942. Followed by another in again in 1942 produced by the Sadler's Wells based on some selected scenes from the tragedy. It was revived in 1964 by the Royal Ballet and again in 1981 to the music of Gallenberg. The 1970 version was danced to the music of Nicolai Chervinsky.

Yet another revival in 1975 version was danced to the music of Nicolai Chervinsky. Another revival in the 1975 opted the music of Shostakovich and boarded in Boston. This was followed by Hamlet of the American Ballet Theatre in 1976 to Copland's music. In all these ballets the music replaced dialogue.