Presented by Fingerless Theatre. Directed by Alex Kendall Robson
Tom Stoppard meets an ‘& Juliet’ sized “What If?” in this quirky and, at times, brutal reimagining of Ophelia’s story
Reviewed by Justin Clarke
KXT on Broadway, Ultimo
Until 29th March, 2025
Tickets: https://www.kingsxtheatre.com/ophelia-thinks-harder
Type: Shakespeare Mash-Up, Gender-Swap, Feminist Theory
If You Liked: Hamlet, Lady Macbeth (2016), & Juliet
Ophelia may just be one of William Shakespeare’s more tragic female victims. Ruled by her lecture-loving father, toyed with emotionally by the future King of Denmark, and ultimately driven mad by both, she meets a watery end. The question of it being accidental or purposeful has revolved around many scholars’ heads for an age. Ophelia Thinks Harder sees New Zealander playwright Jean Betts take Ophelia’s character and swap her in the place of the whiny-soliloquising Prince in a feminist, easter egg hunt filled reimagining for Shakespeare enthusiasts.
A gripe of which I constantly shudder are Shakespeare productions that chuck in modern age slang and asides to make a piece contemporary, thankfully director Alex Kendall Robson indulges in the zany wit of Betts’ reimagining, where Shakespeare’s Hamlet is woven seamlessly between its Elizabethan and new-age dialogue. Bett’s takes bits and pieces of the original where necessary to follow the recognisable plot with an air of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead.
Playing in traverse on Hannah Yardley and Jimi Rawlings intricately decorated set, tufts of green grass cascade to the roof where a variety of flowers dangle. Opposite, candles burn consistently under a vigil to the Virgin Mother Mary, the wax melting down the altar. It’s both simple and elegant at the same time- it is so Ophelia.
Betts takes aim at the patriarchy in Denmark and in Shakespeare’s world, through a gender-bending examination of Ophelia’s place in the great globe of men. Brea Macey gives a no-holds barred performance that isn’t afraid to throw tantrums and appease the patriarchy for her own survival, all whilst teetering on the precipice of being an individualised version of the Prince himself.
Opposite, Eleni Cassimatis is purposefully subdued and withdrawn as Ophelia’s maid as she takes a beating from the men she serves in her social stature. Whilst the main characters spittle and scream for attention, Cassimatis is wide-eyed and watchful, her inability to help, nor to break the chains of the world she lives in speaks more fiercely.
Robson’s cast feel as though placed on the wooden boards of the great Globe itself, their energy, diction and tone seeking to explode beyond the walls of the Ultimo-based theatre. It’s the closest we Aussies can get to a Globe Theatre performance. When it’s required, this level of direction demands your attention, and when it’s not you often yearn for the quieter moments so you can calm the space.
Shaw Cameron’s Hamlet is, to put it bluntly, a dick. He enters a dick, he speaks like a dick, he plays with his dick, and at the end he remains a dick, all of which Cameron revels in. Sonya Kerr’s intimacy coordination creates a breathtakingly uncomfortable scene towards the end of Act One on a take of Hamlet’s “Get thee to a nunnery” that puts the original dialogue in a new light, with brutally believable choreography.
…a breath of fresh Shakespeare in a show that balances whacky silliness, with insightful musings on femininity
Throughout, there are easter eggs for lovers of Shakespeare that will either make you feel smug when you hear them, or a plebian for not knowing them. It’s alright though, because Betts gives her own tongue-in-cheek nods to her own writing as well as the world of theatre throughout. A discussion between The Players gives a mirrored social commentary on theatrical spaces that both artists and avid audiences of the Sydney theatre scene will most likely have conversed over before.
So, the question becomes, do you need to know Hamlet to “get” this show? Look, the answer is most probably yes. But in saying that, it’s not necessarily without merit if you’re not familiar. Robson’s direction ensures the cast commit to the – at times slapstick – nature of the work, feeding the feminist foundations at its heart. Lucy Miller’s Queen Gertrude gives a superb switch on The Bedroom scene in which the role reversal speaks wonders to the nature of mothers and motherhood in Shakespeare’s England, as well as the modern notion of motherhood, virginity and naturally gifted feminine power.
Hannah Raven, Julie Bettens, Pat Mandziy, Richard Hilliar, Zachary Aleksander and Finley Penrose gift the show a strong ensemble, with no small players utilised here. They speak the speech and then some.
Shakespeare himself is a tricky muse to explore at the best of times, with modern adaptations either going too far in the world of possibilities or choosing to stick to its roots. Ophelia Thinks Harder therefore, is a breath of fresh Shakespeare in a show that balances whacky silliness, with insightful musings on femininity.
Theatre Thought: Oh, Ophelia… – The Rumineers
CAST & CREATIVES
Director Alex Kendall Robson
CAST: Brea Macey, Eleni Cassimatis, Shaw Cameron, Lucy Miller, Hannah Raven, Julie Bettens, Pat Mandziy, Richard Hilliar, Zachary Aleksander, Finley Penrose and Jade Fuda
Set and Prop Designers: Hannah Yardley and Jimi Rawlings
Costume Advisor: Alex Kendall Robson
Lighting Designer: Sophie Parker
SFX Designer/ASM: David Wilson
Stage Manager: Caity Cowan
Intimacy Coordinator: Sonya Kerr
Social Media Manager: Maddy Withington
Graphic Designer: Matthew Whittingham
Production Placement: Jessica Dalton
Co-producers: Jade Fuda and Alex Kendall Robson
