Teen Angst

This weekend is the final performance of Hamlet at the Guthrie theater, which is the final production at the current location. Set in a vaguely 1940's time period,Dowling's vision should lend itself to a rather existential version, after all Hamlet is a "metaphor for the project of human existence." However, this version seemed neither existential nor Freudian. Hamlet is portrayed by the 23 year old Santino Fontana, giving this portrayal a very youthful indecisiveness, perhaps less contemplative and with a bit more genuine madness. Here Hamlet is more motivated by rebellion and misanthrophy, than by a search for authenticity. While I appreciate the efforts of creating a modern Hamlet, and I can even stomach the Ethan Hawke version, I still prefer a classic Medieval approach