Claudius (Craig Wallace, center) directs Rosencrantz (Romell Witherspoon, right) and Guildenstern (Adam Wesley Brown) to glean what is afflicting Hamlet. Photo by Jeff Malet, courtesy of the Folger.
As much as we may think we are the stars in our lives, especially in this #Millennial world, we are but bit players at the mercy of randomness, life and death. This is the bitter kernel at the heart of “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” now playing at the Folger Shakespeare Theatre. The original run was slated through June 20, but you have an extra weekend to catch the action, as the production now runs through June 28.
The play, staged by Aaron Posner –who also helmed “The Conference of the Birds”, one of my favorite productions at the Folger– is a rapid-fire assault to the senses. The banter and time-wasting sequences that happen to the titular characters in between scenes from the larger, off-stage “Hamlet” play, come to life thanks to a seamless collaboration of a talented cast and the synergy of costume, light, and sound design. Helen Q. Huang’s costumes present a striking contrast of R&G’s earthy, comfortable browns and grays with the “Hamlet” characters in their ethereal, metallic gowns that give them the appearance of floating through the stage. The ragtag tragedian crew looks distressingly real: dirt and travel-worn, with stiff red Elizabethan collars that give them a sad clown aura, they ride the fine line between what is real, and what isn’t. The asymmetry in the pieces lends a unifying theme with the set design.
The light design by Thom Weaver produces an eerie contrast between the dusty stillness of the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern universe, and the sleek coolness of the tragedy. Eric Shimelonis’s sound design is so well integrated with the lighting and so striking, I found myself jumping in my seat every time the lights changed.
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are our stand-ins for reality. This is ironic and, as an audience, puts us in our place: R&G are bit players in a horrible tragedy, but we are an audience watching bit players struggle with their place in the world, just as powerless and captive; just as mortal as they are. Our leader and visionary through the tedium of waiting for our antiheroes’ lives to be given meaning is the Player, played by Ian Merrill Peakes. His stand-out performance begins even before the play starts in earnest. As he admonishes the audience to silence our cell phones and we know that he knows. He knows that we know he knows. We all know and whenever he pops up on stage, we listen.
“Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead” plays at the Folger through Sunday, June 28. Tickets can be purchased through the Folger website by clicking here. There are several special night events upcoming, including this Thursday’s post-show talk with the cast and Friday’s “Poets Respond” slam poetry event.