Suzy Eddie Izzard’s Solo “Hamlet” Is a Dazzling High-Wire Act
Izzard delivers a cerebral, language-driven “Hamlet” at the Shakespeare Theatre, powered by clarity, control, and sheer theatrical nerve.
The second one-person show to grace The Shakespeare Theatre this season, Suzy Eddie Izzard‘s The Tragedy of Hamlet is quite a different beast from Bill Irwin’s On Beckett. Right out of the gate, this has the feel of a celebrity offering, where the cult of Izzard is so integral to the concept — and indeed the performance — it’s hard to tell where one begins and the other ends.
This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, because, frankly, there has to be a pretty good reason to watch someone do all the parts in a play, especially something as inherently crowded and complex as Shakespeare. Izzard, with her versatile, high-profile career (encompassing standup, theater, television, and film) has developed just that kind of persona along with the ambition to master this particular skillset (she previously performed Dickens’ Great Expectations).
There is something of the “showman’s” stunt to the idea, and surely this is part of the appeal for Izzard. Like a David Blaine for the literary crowd, part of the thrill is whether Izzard can pull off such a memory-defying performance, played out live for every audience, every night.
However, aside from the spectacle, and assuming no brain freezes, there must also be the question of what singlehandedly delivering all the parts of Hamlet (as adapted by brother Mark Izzard) actually brings to the conversation. On balance, it’s certainly something.
First to note is Izzard’s choice not to emphasize different voices or much in the way of characterizations (save for the gravedigger’s scene), which avoids this feeling too much the parlor trick or comedy. Yes, there are moments of humor, but they are gently clever and never enough to kill the narrative vibe.
Instead, Izzard delivers The Tragedy of Hamlet for its language and story, almost in the manner of a reading or recitation, albeit a lively one, and it creates an interesting and original kind of space for absorbing and contemplating the play. In fact, it offers the unusual effect of allowing one to view it from a certain distance while also allowing Izzard his choice in highlighting an intriguing array of smaller moments, intricacies, and perspectives.
But it’s also delivered well. With her high-beamed charisma and slightly challenging air of unpredictability, Izzard has an intense clarity of purpose that, paired with her extraordinarily natural delivery, makes this a wonderfully dark tale, recounted with intelligence and wit. She may be a bit like that vivacious dinner party guest, who once it’s time for whiskey and chocolates, takes it upon themselves to provide the entertainment, but it’s fun and entertaining. In other words, for those who already know the play, there will be plenty of intellectual titillation in the novelty and gifts of the method and the medium.
Which certainly begs the question of whether you can follow it, let alone get anything out of it, if you don’t know it. Probably not that easily, but you may also not really care. Izzard is riveting to watch, and both she and director Selina Cadell know when to slow the proceedings down, when to pause, and when to give emphasis to a particular monologue. That may actually be just enough for a neophyte when it comes to the plot and a sense of the beauty and profundity in the way Shakespeare wrestled with human angst.
If there is anything that doesn’t quite land, it’s perhaps that, without stronger characterization, there is less of a sense of Hamlet as a personality. We hear his words, and Izzard gives them the warp and weft of the language, but it’s hard to ignore why a performance in full and complete character can be so affecting. Missing is a sense of the young, angry, and vulnerable young man, which is so much of what makes this a tragedy. There is also something less compelling in Izzard’s rendering of the female characters, but it’s also true to say that this rests with the Bard as a man of his times.
These thoughts aside, and as long as you’re happy for a Hamlet that’s as much Izzard as it is the play, then this is, without doubt, a marvel of memory, stage skill, and sheer Shakespearean precocity.
Suzy Eddie Izzard in The Tragedy of Hamlet (★★★★★) runs through April 11 at The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. For tickets, visit shakespearetheatre.org.
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