By: James, Larry, Ethan, and Abby
To be or not to be: a phrase that all eighth graders at Fallon Middle School became familiar with. The San Francisco Shakespeare company performed Hamlet for the students in March at the beginning of first period ending after second period. The play takes place in Denmark. Hamlet was a depressed teen after his father, the King of Denmark, was mysteriously murdered by his own brother, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. Claudius killed his brother so he could marry Hamlet’s mother and become the king. The ghost of Hamlet’s father comes to haunt Hamlet, telling him to avenge him. We won’t spoil anything more, but let’s just say, this is no happy ending.
The students thought that the acting was entertaining, satisfactory, complex, and impressive. However, most of the people had no idea what these actors were saying, as they spoke softly and in quick Shakespearean language that took a while to process.
When asking 8th graders after the show what they thought, somebody told us, “I enjoyed the characters Ophelia, Pyramus, and Claudius the most.”
Satya said, “I think the most tragic part was when Hamlet killed Polonius, and the ending fight between Hamlet and Laertes, where everybody except for Horatio tragically died.”
A critique against this play was that the genders for Ophelia and Hamlet were improper, as in the original storyline, Hamlet is portrayed by a man and Ophelia a woman.
This play was described by students and teachers as both tragic and entertaining. Although at the end of the play almost everyone died, it was quite bittersweet and amusing. Thank you for coming to perform for us at Fallon, San Francisco Shakespeare Company!
To be or not to be: a phrase that all eighth graders at Fallon Middle School became familiar with. The San Francisco Shakespeare company performed Hamlet for the students in March at the beginning of first period ending after second period. The play takes place in Denmark. Hamlet was a depressed teen after his father, the King of Denmark, was mysteriously murdered by his own brother, Hamlet’s uncle, Claudius. Claudius killed his brother so he could marry Hamlet’s mother and become the king. The ghost of Hamlet’s father comes to haunt Hamlet, telling him to avenge him. We won’t spoil anything more, but let’s just say, this is no happy ending.
The students thought that the acting was entertaining, satisfactory, complex, and impressive. However, most of the people had no idea what these actors were saying, as they spoke softly and in quick Shakespearean language that took a while to process.
When asking 8th graders after the show what they thought, somebody told us, “I enjoyed the characters Ophelia, Pyramus, and Claudius the most.”
Satya said, “I think the most tragic part was when Hamlet killed Polonius, and the ending fight between Hamlet and Laertes, where everybody except for Horatio tragically died.”
A critique against this play was that the genders for Ophelia and Hamlet were improper, as in the original storyline, Hamlet is portrayed by a man and Ophelia a woman.
This play was described by students and teachers as both tragic and entertaining. Although at the end of the play almost everyone died, it was quite bittersweet and amusing. Thank you for coming to perform for us at Fallon, San Francisco Shakespeare Company!