Holy Shakespeare Company's Historic Production of Hamlet Brings In Massive Crowds
The first of the HSC's new series- Hamlet
The Holy Shakespeare Company continues the tradition of one of the most influential Helgaran playwright's William Shakespeare. Despite this the HSC has been facing declining audience sizes, last season for the first time ever they didn't make a net profit on their season. This lead to the old artistic director being fired, and Reese Hightower being hired. While Reese is a veteran actor of the HSC, cast in a handful of productions, he is mostly known for his own production company known as the Ionian Contemporary, noted for its commitment to modern experimental theatre. Reese' announced a hallmark season for the HSC, and each production will feature a new twist. The female-led
Hamlet is the first of this new season, and opened this weekend.
Hamlet was set to run til the end of September, but has already been extended two more weekend, due to already being completely sold-out. This is already the HSC's most profitable production in recent history, and given the early ticket sales of the shows later in the season, this trend is only set to continue.
Artistic critics are in a bit of a disagreement over the production.The Ionian Artistic Journal said the gender-bending of the titular role has "breathed new life into one of the oldest still produced plays." While the Helgara Observer claimed that "the casting of Hamlet bended, although never truly broke, the story, a bit a little too much at points." Despite this, almost all are in agreement that the production is extremely well done, and as our own Helen Viso, said in her review, "the HSC has stuck gold. This production of
Hamlet is a benchmark for what skilled artists are capable of, and once again shows why Helgara is the capital of theatre in Mundus. Reese Hightower has proven that his youth and daring to re-invent the Holy Shakespeare Company are well-placed. And, I for one, am already extremely excited to see the next production."
But not only the high class will get to enjoy
Hamlet. Given the finical success, the HSC has announced a number of free performances for entire season that will show to the less finically stable and the youth. In the announcement, Reese stated, "Art is not, and should never be, only for those that can afford it. Our commitment is to support, entertain, and challenge people in all walks of life, be they old, young, rich, poor, Ionian, or Helgaran. With these showings, we hope to inspire a new group of theatre goers, as well as the next generation of artists."
Not everyone is happy though. A number of conservatives are calling for a boycott of the HSC, mostly focused on the fact that Reese is a trans man. Despite this, the boycott has gained little traction. The Church's acceptance of transgender issues has made Helgara one of the forerunners when it comes to trans rights. As Avatar Octavia has said many times, "The gender-fluidity of Crissaar is well-documented, and celebrated. Why should we as a nation not celebrate individuals who, are not only living their most authentic lives, but also are following in the footsteps of the most holy? Helgara as a nation has already fought these issues, and the acceptance of Crissaar is clear."
The next show of the HSC's season is Julius Caesar. The production will not feature a single HSC company member, and is instead a co-production with the Native Ionian Theatre Institute (NITI), known for it's commitment to casting and telling the stories of the Native Ionians.