Independent Shakespeare Company Delves Into The Bad Quarto Of Hamlet

At the beginning of The Book Of Will, a performance of Hamlet is being put on. Only, as we quickly discover, the actors are using the first quarto, the so-called “Bad Quarto,” for Hamlet says, “To be or not to be, ay, there’s the point.” It’s a funny moment, establishing one reason why it was so important for Shakespeare’s friends to publish an official collection of his works, now known as the First Folio. But how bad is the Bad Quarto? And how did it come about? Those are questions that were addressed last night by members of the Independent Shakespeare Company in Los Angeles as part of this year’s Iambic Lab.

The theme this year is “Hamlet, Undiscovered Country,” which might be considered a rather bold theme. After all, so much has been said and written about Hamlet that it might seem crazy to think there are areas that have not yet been explored. But of course there are always new things to discover in each of Shakespeare’s plays, including Hamlet. There are new gems found by each production. On the company’s website, last night’s performance was described as a staged reading, but that was not a completely accurate description. Conceived by Melissa Chalsma and Nikhil Pai, the performance was presented as a lesson on the first quarto and its place in the canon, with staged readings of certain speeches, but not the entire play. Joining Chalsma and Pai on stage was Brent Charles, and the three took a playful approach to the subject, with Chalsma taking on the role of teacher and Pai and Charles (along with the audience) as her students. She even supplied handouts to the audience, containing a few speeches to be discussed. Initially it was Nikhil Pai whose reactions to readings from Q1 were likely most aligned with those of us in the audience. In short, he did not care for them. But by the end both he and the audience came away with an appreciation for that version of the play.

This came about by the three actors performing certain scenes and speeches from Q1 and comparing them to the Folio readings, but also by acting out theories on how Q1 was created in the first place, with Melissa Chalsma playing Shakespeare and Brent Charles playing Richard Burbage at one point. Delightful, and also fascinating. The differences among the two quartos and the folio are also fascinating, with the meaning changing depending on the wording. For example, does Hamlet mention “sallied flesh,” “sullied flesh” or “solid flesh”? Each has a different meaning, but each can work. And just how old is Hamlet? That has posed a problem for folks. Well, in the Folio he is clearly thirty years old. But in Q1 he is eighteen. The performance last night got into those elements. But what was most intriguing was the difference in Gertrude’s role in Q1. She straight-out tells Hamlet that she believes him about the guilt of Claudius. That changes everything.

Though last night’s performance was a one-time thing, the Iambic Lab runs through April 9th, with performances of Hamlet, Solus, a workshop on dancing and a talk on women portraying Hamlet. And if you get there early, you can have a drink called the Mortal Coil in the lobby before the performance. I recommend it.