Off-Broadway’s topical drama Corruption creates an expansive picture of a political and newspaper scandal with a cast of 13 enacting over 45 characters. Eddie Izzard nearly outdoes them by playing 23 characters herself (sic) in the greatest corruption play of them all—Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This one-person production of the Melancholy Dane is now at the Orpheum Theater after a hit run at the Greenwich House.
Izzard, who identifies as gender-fluid and has recently taken on the female pronouns, is uniquely equipped to portrayed both the masculine and feminine sides of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy. Dressed in a gender-neutral black jacket and hip-high boots (Tom Pier and Libby da Costa are listed as Costume Stylists) and wearing rogue, lipstick, and mascara, Izzard embodies the male toxicity of the corrupt Danish court as well as the manly virtues of Hamlet’s chivalry and nobility. She also delivers a heartbreakingly fragile Ophelia and a maternal Gertrude.
The highlight of Izzard’s performance is her eloquent use of her hands, creating a ballet of digits to depict the Bard’s conflict between intellect and passions. In one hilarious running gag, Izzard uses her hands as puppets to deliver Rosencrantz and Guildenstern’s lines—reinforcing their status as playthings of the murderous king, Hamlet’s uncle Claudius.
There are minor adjustments for clarity and speed in the adaptation by Mark Izzard, the star’s brother. Hamlet now refers to Polonius as a “tedious old git” and specific character names are employed to avoid confusion. Selina Cadell’s direction is clean and crisp. Tom Piper’s simple white box of a set becomes a canvas transformed by Tyler Elich’s colorful lighting, Eliza Thompson’s original music and Izzard’s multifaceted interpretation of Shakespeare’s greatest work.
