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Michael Birch's "One Man Hamlet"
~ The Reviews ~
"When the lights came up after Michael Birch’s One Man Hamlet, one thought was at the forefront of my mind: “How were those last ninety minutes of a man talking to himself so entertaining?” Let’s face it, as much as I love the Bard, Shakespeare can be a real challenge for any performer and The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark is arguably one of the most demanding plays in his cannon. The lead role alone has been known to leave even famous leading men *coughjudelaw* inadequately stumbling about the stage, lost in hopeless ennui, their acting muscles stretched well beyond their breaking point. So, my dear readers, how the heck is it possible for one actor to portray every single character in the show simultaneously and retain even a modicum of Hamlet’s spirit?
Well, don’t ask me how he does it, but Birch pulls it off with virtual seamlessness."
.....
"Michael Birch's One Man Hamlet...makes us focus on the language...The opportunity to really live inside and relish these words...makes this production a rewarding experience."
"[Birch] gives each of his roles a distinctive sound and accent."
"Birch is an actor rather than an impressionist...each of the voices he creates here is organic and original...It is always completely clear who is speaking to us, even when several people are involved in a single conversation."
"The focus here is necessarily on the words, and Birch speaks them beautifully. [He] gives us a chance to simply hear what each of these people has to say; to discover how their speeches add up to a robustly entertaining story that bristles with thrilling imagery and the occasional profundity."
"The story is crisp and accessible."
"A genuine tour-de-force!"
"For audiences it's an entertaining and edifying way to experience a play that almost always reveals new things to us every time we see/hear it."
The Latest Review - nytheatre.com - Martin Denton
.....
"Speaking with a friend of mine after the show, the one thing we were both curious about is how something we’ve been seeing in seven-minute chunks would translate to a longer form. The answer: I was shocked for even thinking it in the first place. It’s HAMLET, by gods, after all. It’s meant to be experienced in one chunk. I found myself completely lost inside the play. The transitions between the characters were flawless; the voices (18 of them!) and the physical characteristics Michael Birch gives them are memorable and make the characters easily identifiable. The one thing I was worried about was being able to follow who was who over the course of the whole play. But I was never lost, never didn’t know what was going on.
In fact, I found myself thinking about the play in new ways. Finding new sympathies for characters and discovering subtleties I’d never thought about. To get particular, his performance of Act 3 Scene 1 (To be or not to be —> get thee to a nunnery) is so powerful and nuanced, people in the crowd gasped audibly at some of the lines. To think about people gasping, rapt, in the audience, at something so ubiquitous and seemingly familiar as Hamlet, in this day and age, is incredible. This is a testament to Birch’s performance, and the obvious love he has for the play and the characters. "
Michael Birch’s
One Man Hamlet
Sunday October 11, 18, 25 and November 1
7pm, $10 (all
ticket sales are at the door)
@Under St. Marks Theater
94 St. Marks Place, NYC
A 90 minute presentation
of William Shakespeare's
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
with all the roles portrayed by Michael Birch.
Show must start at 7, so please come early and enjoy a cheep drink and live music.
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