During Shakespeare’s time, instead of elaborate stage sets, a simple pillar with a banner was placed in the middle of the stage. The banner would read: Garden, Palace, Shore—and the audience was invited to imagine the space. Back then, theater focused elsewhere—on human conflicts, the power of passion, the deeper meaning of the play, and its philosophical and poetic essence (what we might call its “internal form”).
How Many Versions of Hamlet Exist Today?
You might watch a production with a “classical” approach: the prince dressed in black tights with a sword, his father’s ghost wrapped in a white shroud—everything appears traditional, theatrical, and standardized. Everything except the actors, who often seem trapped behind their costumes, their blood, ideas, and passions nowhere to be seen.
Or, you might watch a production with dazzling stage designs: giant golden screens obscuring the sky. Everywhere you look, there is gold—on the walls, in the clothing, in the conversations. Hamlet, dressed in humble, dark clothing, appears like a stranger in this world of luxury and grandeur. Here, the theater does not focus on a realistic depiction of life but on a philosophical and symbolic interpretation of tragedy.
Or, you might see yet another version: a knight’s castle with a drawbridge and cannons, with heavy armor and weapons. Hamlet no longer wears tights and carries a delicate sword; instead, he wields a heavy blade, wears fur-lined cloaks, and stomps in battle boots. This production focuses on a realistic portrayal of life, highlighting the customs and social conflicts of the era.
This remarkable play can be staged in countless ways, and each of these forms can seem fitting and exciting.
Is There an Ideal Form?
Imagine the massive Mount Elbrus, standing nearly 6,000 meters tall. In the morning, it looks one way, at noon another, in the evening a third, and at night a fourth. In winter, in summer, under the sun, in a storm, from different angles—it is always different, yet always Elbrus.
The greater a dramatic work, the more it resembles Elbrus. Any director or actor who believes that their version is the smartest, the deepest, or the most faithful is mistaken. We may thank them for showing us something connected to Elbrus and not merely to themselves(!). However, they have not exhausted the subject or revealed some eternal truth. They have simply shown us one of the mountain’s countless faces—and that is all.
To find a new approach (a new form) for a classic play means to reveal one of its infinite facets while leaving the others aside. And that is all.
