Amusing headstones bearing rather risqué names adorn a stage representational of a graveyard in Grayson College’s production of “The Ellsinore Follies” at the Texas IV Kennedy Center American Collegiate Theatre Festival.
The play, which is the story of Hamlet told from the Gravedigger’s point of view, is a campy, seductive look at what could possibly lead to the tragic death of Prince Hamlet and seven others that fall during the play. While the humor is very reminiscent of Tom Stoppard’s “Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead,” Grayson’s production took on a much more sexual tone.
The Gravedigger feels the problem in Ellsinore, Denmark, is lust. Everyone wants to have a sexual congress with everyone else, including the incestuous implication of the Queen mother wanting to make with her son, Hamlet. The favored place in this play to have these relations is a grave the Gravedigger has been digging throughout the show.
The play, while quite funny, ended up being nothing more than two hours of toilet humor. There was only one joke, and it was sex, throughout the entire show. This would not have been a problem if the acting had been better.
Many of the actors seemed unsure of themselves and uncomfortable portraying some of the sexuality in the play. While the set was very well designed and quite effective for the show, the lighting was stagnant and never changed except for black between the scenes. The sound design was good, but used music that was far too recognizable, including the theme from “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” and this pulled the attention away from the play and started conversations about Jack Skellington instead of the Gravedigger.
Overall, the play managed to entertain without portraying what good theatre is.