Tragedy

Exit Hamlet, Enter the Unseen Artist

Prince Hamlet, son of King Hamlet and nephew to Usurper Claudius, is the popular protagonist of Shakespeare’s longest tragedy, Hamlet. This is the role that Let Me Hamlet’s main character has been after for the last twelve years. Yet despite his consistency and work ethic, he gets stuck with Horatio, who everyone only knows as Hamlet’s friend. Horatio is there for all the most important moments in the play, from the opening to the ever-famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy, and all the way to the tragic ending. Yet he remains unseen both by his fellow characters and by audience members who can barely recall his name, even though his story is also worth telling. This is the point that Koo Park attempts to make in his solo show, Let Me Hamlet, except the story is bigger than Horatio (once again) and reflects the unseen artist’s struggle.