The 2019 Hamlet last show impressions (Osaka)

Hamlet's (Okada Masaki) "Frailty, thy name is woman" soliloquy, photo by Hosono Shinji

Doubt thou the stars are fire, 

Doubt that the sun doth move,

Doubt truth to be a liar,

But never doubt I love

Those lines were that of Hamlet’s (Act 2, Scene 2), but they were not uttered by the famous prince. Instead, the comedic Polonius (Yamazaki Hajime) read it, almost comically, to a group of female audience, who I am certain would have fainted on the spot had Okada Masaki’s Hamlet read those lines for them. 

I would.

And that is the only “regret” (if you will) that I have for this production. That it did not take a creative licence of having Masaki as Hamlet reading it for Ophelia, perhaps intermittently with Polonius’ comical rendition.

(Edit 20.06.19: although now I realised that there was only very little time for Masaki to change into the crazy Hamlet costume if he were to read the letter for Ophelia in his normal princely garb...so perhaps indeed this creative licence idea was technically too difficult)

(Update 18 Sept'19: Click here to read my impressions after re-watching 'Hamlet' at WOWOW)

Other than that… Simon Godwin’s 2019 Japan Hamlet was almost perfect. Beautiful. Re-watch-worthy. And it also induces insomnia for the girls who watched the show live and will re-live the scenes for nights to come.

One of them is me, who despite my bag begging to be packed for the flight tomorrow, stubbornly type this article (or “typed” – I wrote the large part of this post last night). Because I want to pour my heart out, because the first article about the two Hamlet shows in Tokyo is not enough for me (and that article is too long anyway, which reminds me of dear Polonius’ blabbering). 

Five standing ovations. FIVE, ladies and gentlemen. For the reserved Japanese audience to have stood during the FIRST curtain call for the standing ovation, it was a feat on its own.

(I counted the time after the light went on again and the actors were still on the stage, receiving the first claps - where I and some other viewers already stood - as not a curtain call. If that was counted, it means the last show had SIX standing ovations)

Okada Masaki cried again after the… 3rd (I guess) standing ovation, which invited some half-laughters from his costars (including Yamazaki Hajime/Polonius) in a dear way, while Matsuyuki Yasuko and Kuroki Haru comforted the Crying Prince. Masaki also laughed, and cried again. He also looked up the sky/ceiling to thank...Ninagawa-san (I guess) and the Existence (I think Masaki is a spiritual person who often, if not from time-to-time, prays). 

(I read an article where Masaki actually asked Ninagawa-san in heaven whether it was okay for him to accept the role of Hamlet. I have to translate that article, right?)

In the 5th and last standing ovation, all cast joined hands together. I think at the end of that occasion, Masaki and Murakami Nijiro pretended to start a fight (LOL!), while the latter also entered the stage on Aoyagi Sho’s back. Okada Masaki hand in hand with Kuroki Haru leaving the stage was very memorable. I wish I could freeze that moment because it definitely invited an “awwwww” moment from the audience. Really, it was really sweet, because the way Masaki and Haru held hands was by intertwining their hands at the back (one of them circling their hand across the waist of another and vice versa, like in a waltz dance), which positioned both of them in a very close and comforting proximity. 

The Hamlet Osaka poster inside Morinomiya Piloti Hall

Anyway, let’s get back to the play, shall we? This time, I’m just going to add tidbits that I observed in the last Hamlet show. Readers are kindly suggested to read my first post about the general observations (rather in-depth) of the Tokyo shows I’ve seen. 

One of the first differences I noticed between Bunkamura Shibuya Tokyo and Morinomiya Osaka was some changes of the stage settings. I was surprised that Ophelia’s body wasn’t carried to the graveyard. As in, Aoyagi Sho et al didn’t carry Kuroki Haru in the funeral scene. In her stead, a human-shaped prop covered with a geometric black and white fabric. I’m sure the fabric didn’t wrap Kuroki Haru, because the effect was more pronounced when Aoyagi Sho’s Laertes embraced the real Kuroki uncovered in fabric rather than a prop. Is that because of a safety concern? As in, RSI, repetitive strain injury?

Anyway, probably because the hole for Ophelia’s grave wasn’t as deep as that of Theatre Cocoon’s in Bunkamura Tokyo, a black fabric covered the hole for Ophelia’s grave during the transition between Act 5 Scene 1 to Scene 2, which was Hamlet talking to Horatio about him feeling bad for making a scene and lashing at Laertes at the funeral. Here, Masaki’s Hamlet and Hayata’s Horatio used the right small stage in Morinomiya (from the audience’s viewpoint), probably because it’s such a waste to not use that available small stage (Theatre Cocoon’s stage is smaller than Morinomiya’s). 

Another change of setting was that Masaki also used the right alley to enter Act 1 Scene 5 (when he first met his father’s ghost). In Tokyo, I didn’t recall that this lane was used a lot for entrance, and certainly not for that scene.

Speaking of stage setting, Soutra Gilmour updated her website with the Hamlet portfolio. Yay!!! Thanks a lot Ms Gilmour! ("Okada" is misspelled, but I hope it's fixed soon...spelling foreign names can be difficult indeed - both from the Western and Japanese perspectives)

The Hamlet poster outside the Morinomiya Piloti Hall

From the expressions viewpoints: Hamlet force-feeding Claudius with poison was still scary, but the more impactful one this time was his goodbye to the faithful Horatio. I know some ladies around me cried during that scene. It’s also possible that I wasn’t focusing on the poison-feeding part because I was in R row, hence I had to use my binoculars to view Masaki’s face, whereas in my Tokyo 2nd show, I was in F row, hence it was easier to see Masaki’s face. The part between Hamlet stabbing Claudius, poison-feeding him and then the Prince stumbled down because the poison was also working against him was so fast and intense; you blink and you miss it.  

After adjusting my binoculars though, I was able to Hamlet trying to say goodbye to Gertrude before she died; this scene was also potent. I can see Gertrude’s regrets for not seeing through Claudius’ lies and Hamlet’s sorrow for yet having to part with his parent. 

When Hamlet found out Ophelia was listening to his “to be or not to be” soliloquy, he looked so sad. Masaki actually cried here. I think I know why Hamlet told Ophelia to get to the nunnery in anger in this scene. He was surprised and disappointed that Ophelia returned his letters at a time he needed a solid hand to help him. Yet, what did he expect? He didn’t tell Ophelia about his plan to unmask Claudius, how would the poor girl know? Hence perhaps his tears, for he wanted her to stay, yet he was already too far in the game (in his mind) to tell her that all of his acts were just a façade in pursuit of truth. 

The scene where Hamlet wanted to say something to Gertrude when she bumped into her son at the stairs was still very sad (this unspoken scene preceded the "To be or not to be" soliloquy). This time, I see clearly the pain etched on Hamlet’s face. He really wanted to talk to his mother, yet Gertrude’s haughtiness prevented them from a heart-to-heart talk...

I also noticed a new thing during the "To be or not to be" soliloquy. Here, Hamlet's voice actually faltered when he spoke of death as resembling a sleep. I don't mean Masaki's voice faltered (though there were times in the last show that I heard as if he was trying hard to speak, for he must've been very tired). I mean, Hamlet himself was doubting that death was merely a sleep.

When he said, "To die, to sleep - No more - and by a sleep to say we end", his voice faltered because he himself didn't really buy his own arguments. He was scared. Okada Masaki's Hamlet was looking down from the tower as he said it:

"Shinu...死ぬ..."

His voice was trembling in the prospect of meeting death below.

As he said later, what if death is not sleep? Thus, when Hamlet later repeated that first part, "To die, to sleep. To sleep, perchance to dream - ay, there's the rub - " he then snapped out of it. 

Ophelia’s sorrow when she found out Polonius’ death was very pronounced.  It was only a brief scene, a transition if you will, as the stage rotated, but I feel for her, she was literally in pain for losing her father. 

On the other hand, Hamlet’s sorrow when he found out Ophelia died was also very palpable this time. This time, I was able to observe the changes of his expression, from curiosity to surprise and sad, sorrow, although he was hiding at the stage edge.

When during the graveyard scene Hamlet screamed that he loved Ophelia, this time I felt it was true.

"I loved Ophelia. Forty thousand brothers
Could not with all their quantity of love
Make up my sum. What wilt thou do for her?"
(Hamlet, Act 5, Scene 1)

Yes, Hamlet was stupid with his mad plan, but he loved Ophelia nonetheless. He needed to grow up, but that love was no less love because of his stupidity.

“Doubt truth to be a liar, but never doubt I love.”
(Act 2, Scene 2) 

(Read my new fan fiction about that line titled "Never Doubt I Love" here).

In a parental setting, I LOVE the return of the mother-son loving relationship in the last act... I guess this Hamlet was always a mama’s boy before Gertrude remarried, hence his disgust when Gertrude and Claudius kissed in public.


I debated for a while whether Hamlet was truly heartless in his action of accidentally murdering Polonius. As in, whether he truly did not regret it. However, Gertrude answered that question for me. In Act 4, Scene 1, Line 27, Gertrude said, "He weeps for what is done."

Therefore, Masaki crying as he dragged Polonius' lifeless body was true to the source. Hamlet did regret killing Polonius; the script was just not enough to explore it, but the clue was there, and this production explored it well with the way Masaki conveyed that emotion.

In a lighter note, I realised that Yamazaki Hajime's Polonius really loved (or adored) his own rendition of Julius Caesar. In Act 2, Scene 1, just before Ophelia running down the stairs screaming (because the "mad" Hamlet just visited her without making any sense), Polonius was practicing his famous line "Et tu, Brute?" with a book on his hand. When Polonius enacted his Julius Caesar being murdered, Masaki's incredulous look upon seeing Polonius' acting was actually a delight to see.


(This one paragraph was added on 1 July 2019)

I was thinking about a particular scene several times, but I always forgot to add it here. Then Benio mentioned it on Twitter just now, so I thought it's indeed worth mentioning. When Masaki was chasing down the Ghost in Act 1, he actually scaled a wall (or climbed a pole) without any stairs at all. There were some dents on the pole to help him going up, but he had to really use his upper body strength to reach the second level. As Benio observed, Masaki was always fast when he did that. Underneath that slender figure, Okada Masaki seems to be quite fit!

ハムレット殿下がセリフ言いながら柵を登るシーンがあったけど、私が観た回全部、一度も息切らさずササッと登ってた！

よほどの肺活量か、人知れずかなりトレーニングしてるんだろうなぁ。

色んなシーンが脳裏に蘇る♥️#ハムレット #岡田将生

— BeniO (@Benio317) July 1, 2019

In the off-stage setting, I stalked – ahem – fan-greeted Masaki again. Well, as in, me and my new friend (hello dear new friend!) queued with others for a good 20 min or so at the back stage door (there was a long queue already when we arrived). Another lady gave me a piece of paper and a pen to write a letter to Masaki (though I didn’t think I have a chance to give him the letter). I did write him the letter, a very short one in English (he does speak English anyway).

But as I expected, I couldn’t give him the letter.  After 20-30 min of queueing, a ruckus was heard at the front section. From a good distance, I saw a sprout of curly hair and a pair of glasses…  Then… a car passed us by. 

Then I saw Masaki with his curly hair and cool glasses as he left with others in a taxi, his shadowy super thin moustache was prominent against his fair skin, curly hair and blue-ish glasses. I think I only noticed him for 2-3 seconds max because I was busy scanning the faces in that car (Aoyagi Sho, IMO, sat at the front and his curly hair made me almost thought he was Masaki – Sho, you’re also cute, so please don’t be mad that I didn’t recognise it was you!). When I finally noticed Masaki, he almost passed by my nose, and I was almost too late in waving my hands, let alone bow, or scream like a banshee.  

However, he was, still is, beautiful…

When I saw him on 11 June in Osaka, he had a similar look to this shot in Tokyo,
down to the curls and glasses (photo on 19 May 2019 in Shibuya)

But, unlike in Tokyo, I didn’t scream like a banshee school girl. I didn’t scream like a banshee, but I guess because my brain even worked slower than normal upon seeing his sight.

Good thing I didn’t need duck tapes then, cos I forgot to bring it, haha!

Then I had a drink with my new friend at a café nearby (next to Morinomiya Piloti Hall, there’s a very nice small mall with good food!). We talked a lot about Masaki.

This is me & my new friend in Morinomiya after the show.
合うのは、良かった！

Then we went back to the station, and as we passed it by, we noticed that the Hamlet poster has been taken down.

本当に終わった。。。寂しくて、淋しいです。。。

I knew we should have stolen it just after the show! No one would miss it!

After saying goodbye to my friend at the station, I returned to the mall next to Morinomiya for an early dinner and to start writing this post.

Later, as I walked back to the station, it felt lonely there in Morinomiya without Masaki... but he must be feeling so relieved and he can sleep very well tonight...

Well done, Okada Masaki. Your first Shakespeare, Hamlet nonetheless, glowing incandescently in standing ovations. I’m brimming with pride for you…

Have a good rest, sleep well, just lazying around and enjoy the summer sun… and I hope to see you in August for Bracken Moor…

Longing for Hamlet, my heart feels empty now,
just like this beautiful empty stage... (Photo from Nagashima Keizo's Twitter)

As for me and the other fans, 「あとは、沈黙」。Ato wa, chinmoku. The rest is silence... for our longing for you...