Pärnu Endla's "amletH": a beautiful cacophony that captivates despite its lack of logic

Pärnu Endla theatre's production "amletH" under director Kaili Viidas offers a spectacle where different eras blend freely and lawlessly with Shakespeare's original. The reviewer admits that for theatregoers with a memory for theatre, it creates confusion rather than enjoyment, while a fresh-eyed viewer has the opportunity to find considerable entertainment. The production weaves together Shakespeare's "Hamlet" and Tom Stoppard's "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead".

Pärnu Endla theatre is currently staging "amletH", a production under director Kaili Viidas that plays freely and independently with Shakespeare's "Hamlet", mixing different eras and sources into a single evening of theatre.

The reviewer admits frankly that what was promised in the playbill comes to fruition on stage in abundance: scenes change according to which source they derive from, and the audience seated on the Küüni ridge has little opportunity to rely on logic. Paraphrasing Shakespeare himself: in this madness there is no consistency whatsoever.

A fresh perspective versus theatrical memory

The paradox lies in the fact that it is precisely this irregularity that may make the production far more charming to a viewer who lacks a personal connection with "Hamlet". For them, "amletH" offers far more genuine entertainment than for the theatregoer blessed or burdened with theatrical memory, who struggles to understand what purpose this beautiful cacophony was created for.

The production also weaves in Tom Stoppard's celebrated play "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead". The title characters Ros and Guil, played by Ireen Kennik and Liis Karpov, briefly toss coins with Stoppard's text, but it stops there—no single thread is sustained at greater length.

Playbill notes and self-irony

The reviewer is also prompted to wonder about the playbills of Viidas's own productions: what percentage of self-parody do those texts contain? The answer is not easy to find, but the question itself characterises the production's spirit-taken seriously and understood as jest, "amletH" is simultaneously both.