Bernhardt/Hamlet tells the story of revered actor Sarah Bernhardt, who made history in 1899 when she became the first woman to play Hamlet on stage. In Melbourne Theatre Company’s current production, Sarah Bernhardt is embodied by Helpmann Award-winning actor, Kate Mulvany, who knows a thing or two about tackling Shakespeare’s biggest parts – in 2017 she played Richard III to numerous standing ovations.
Undoubtedly, Melbourne Theatre Company’s new artistic director, Anne-Louise Sarks,
has endured similar pressures to Bernhardt throughout her career; the kind where men
question a woman’s ability to do the exact same task as their male counterparts. US playwright Theresa Rebeck’s 2018 play tackles this thinking and champions a woman who refuses to be hemmed in by the stale conventions of her time. Perhaps that’s why Sarks chose this backstage comedy as her big debut as artistic director. She’s taken a big swing here – on a play that requires an in-depth knowledge of theatre history to fully comprehend – and landed on a harmless, often joyous, but ultimately underwhelming night at the theatre.
The first act is slow, grinding through rehearsal scenes of the play within a play. It’s a tried and tested trope, which theatre-makers seem to adore. Who wouldn’t like to peer backstage and eavesdrop on those rehearsal room conversations? Kate Mulvany rises to Bernhardt’s dizzying heights as the era’s most famous actress and breathes oxygen into some otherwise weary scenes. Diehard fans of Mulvany will leave the theatre replete with her performance; she is bold, big and authentic, just like her protagonist. Her task of leading an ensemble of ten actors with criss-crossing storylines is no small feat.
Marco Chiappi is charming as Constant Coquelin, the aging thespian who has played the Danish Prince four times before, but never in Paris as Bernhardt is daring to do. John Leary is compelling as the curmudgeon critic and Shakespearean purist, Louis. Charles Wu proves instinctive and commanding as Bernhardt’s not-so-secret lover, Cyrano de Bergerac playwright Edmond Rostand – however, Wu’s chemistry with Mulvany never quite lifts off. William McKenna is quick and charismatic as Bernhardt’s son, Maurice, and Tim Walter is perfectly cast as the mopey poster artist, Alphonse Mucha.
All five men circle Bernhardt, questioning her common sense and ability to portray Hamlet, yet all five rely on her success for their own. What follows is an examination of gender politics in 19th-century France; a theme which remains stubbornly relevant today.
In Act 2, Izabella Yena does some heavy lifting in her only scene as Rostand’s deceived wife,
Rosamond. Dushan Philips, Sahil Saluja and Tahlee Fereday round out MTC’s ensemble,
stitching together a complicated plot with comedy and an easy camaraderie.
There are a lot of moving parts in Rebeck’s play, and it’s hard for the audience to hold focus
at times. The second act does pick up steam as we watch Bernhardt step into her full confidence. We never quite get the closure we’re hoping for on the outcome of her play though. Instead, the plot pulls us toward the success of Rostand and his Cyrano, on which there’s an odd historical inaccuracy; Cyrano de Bergerac actually premiered two years before Bernhardt’s Hamlet, in 1897.
Bernhardt/Hamlet assumes an inherent comprehension of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, which is both a drawcard and a deterrent. For theatre lovers, theatre makers and especially theatre history buffs, it's a joyous trip down memory lane, into the intricate world of theatre at large. For general punters, it’s likely a little impenetrable.
Marg Horwell’s set and costume design – with help from associates Jacob Battista and Sophie Woodward – sparkle and inspire throughout. Quirky costume choices and eccentric set pieces give punters something captivating to look at when Shakespeare’s poetry becomes dense. Horwell’s interpretation of 19th-century Parisian theatre-making is effortlessly funny and lavish. Later, when we enter Bernhardt’s salon, we’re bombarded with a maximalist nouveau-riche décor that delights. The most striking element of the set announces itself near the end of the second act when the entire theatre is stripped back to a black box. The audience audibly gasped, suspended in a moment of theatre magic.
This play is commercial in its scale; however, its content doesn’t seem to reach beyond MTC’s stable of long-term subscribers. In the wake of MTC’s extended seasons of Sunday and sold-out performances of Prima Facie (and in the broader context of STC’s phenomenon, The Picture of Dorian Gray, which demonstrated to all theatre fence-sitters the extraordinary possibilities of this art form), Melbourne Theatre Company doesn’t quite get there with Bernhardt/Hamlet.
Bernhardt/Hamlet plays at MTC’s Sumner Theatre until April 15.