Ophelia Thinks Harder: Review
- Michael DiGuglielmo (they/them)
- Mar 22
- 2 min read
There are few feats as challenging in the world of theatre as trying to expand upon the works of Shakespeare. The many ambiguities in his work do leave plenty of wiggle room for contemporary artists to flesh out characters and ideas, but… putting your name in the same line of credits as one of the most praised and influential writers of all time would be more than a little terrifying.
Luckily, director Alex Kendall Robson takes this in their stride with an excellent rendition of Jean Betts’ “Ophelia Thinks Harder”, hitting all the right notes in giving due respect to the Bard’s work without appearing reductive or too self-serious. This is a difficult balancing act to hit, but when the cast of the show nails it, they do so exceptionally.
There were more than a few standout hits on the stage for this one, including Brea Macey, who shifted from understudy to opening night lead. This was a night of people doing terrifying things - expanding Shakespeare’s work, taking centre stage spontaneously, doing impromptu crowd work during the lighter comedic sections - but this young talent just managed to keep it going with non-stop, emotive performances.
Shaw Cameron was another big hit as Hamlet, about as petulant and violent as Hamlet has ever been, but with Cameron’s unique intensity that made the funny parts funnier - and the gruesome parts even more so.
Levity - almost an essential when doing a meta-textual spin on Shakespeare’s work - did occasionally get in the way of the tone. The exclamation “why are women so emotional?!” From a man during a particularly harrowing and violent sexual assault scene was meant to evoke irony - both the dramatic and regular kind - but it also took me out of what was otherwise a pretty terrifying scene.
This doesn’t delude the play’s message, however, not how potent the fantastic work of the cast and set make it. Anyone looking to have a night of spooky, funny, unnerving feminist comedy should definitely give this show a try.
