Hamlet

 Hamlet
National Theatre
Brooklyn Academy of Music
Harvey Theater
May 10, 2026 

Photo courtesy of National Theatre
& Brooklyn Academy of Music

The National Theatre production of Hamlet is crisp and bold.  Director Robert Hastle interprets this Shakespeare classic with simple and accessible splendor.  He includes elements and images throughout the production that transcend location and time period.  The text is clear.  The action is continuous.  The cast is outstanding.  They skillfully fill BAM’s expansive Harvey Theater with emotion, energy, and elegance. 

Hamlet (played by Hiran Abeysekera) grieves the passing of his father the King, while at the wedding of his mother, Gertrude (played by Ayesha Dharker) to his uncle, Claudius (played by understudy Phil Cheadle).  When Horatio (played by Tessa Wong) tells Hamlet she has seen the ghost of his father (played by Ryan Ellsworth) walking in the night, Hamlet follows her to the night watch.  There he is visited by the apparition, who tells Hamlet of how he was murdered by Claudius to obtain the crown.  This sets Hamlet on a quest for revenge, which is hampered by his palpable descent into madness. 

Hiran Abeysekera as Hamlet
Photo courtesy of National Theatre & Brooklyn Academy of Music

Hiran Abeysekera is captivating as Hamlet.  He is driven and strong.  His madness is visceral.  Mr. Abeysekera discovers moments throughout the play where Hamlet loses touch with reality.  His eye shift focus, and he is physically overcome.  These transitions are clearly triggered by action, and take their toll on him.  Each event takes longer to pass, and Hamlet's demise becomes inescapable.

Francesca Mills & Hiran Abeysekera
Photo courtesy of National Theatre & Brooklyn Academy of Music

Francesca Mills is vivacious as Ophelia.  She creates tender relationships with her father, Polonius (played by Matthew Cottle), and her brother, Laertes (played by Tom Glenister).  Her descent into madness is riveting and heartbreaking.  Mr. Cottle portrays Polonius as a caring and generous father.  Mr. Glenister is dashing and brave as Laertes.

National Theatre’s production of Hamlet is playing at Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Harvey Theater through May 17.  It is a stunning production with glorious performances.  Get a ticket! 

Domenick Danza

Life of Pi

 Life of Pi
Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre
April 9, 2023 

Photo courtesy of Life of Pi

The Broadway production of Life of Pi is a truly mesmerizing theatrical experience.  If you’ve read the book or seen the movie, you know the story. This production takes it all to another level.  Lolita Chakrabarti’s adaptation is concise and engaging.  The illusions are spectacular.  The puppetry design by Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell is inventive and precise.  The video design and animation by Andrzej Goulding combine with Tim Lutkin’s lighting and Carolyn Downing’s sound design to give the story dimension and life.  The cast and puppeteers are phenomenal, fully in sync and consistently unified. Director Max Webster pulls it all together to tell this tale of survival, faith, and persistence in the most remarkable way possible. 

Pi (played by Hiran Abeysekera) is the single survivor of a cargo ship that sunk on its way from India to Canada.  After over two hundred days in a life boat, he washes up on a beach in Mexico.  While recovering in a hospital, he is interviewed by Mr. Okamoto (played by Daisuke Tsuji), a representative from the shipping line, and Lulu Chen (played by Kristin Louie), the Canadian Ambassador to Mexico.  They need to document the facts surrounding the ship’s sinking.  Pi begins his story in India, where his family owned a zoo.  Due to diminishing attendance, Pi’s father (played by Rajesh Bose) purchases a Bengal Tiger to hopefully bring in the crowds.  To demonstrate how dangerous the tiger is, Pi’s Father feeds him a goat.  Pi witnesses the tiger kill and devour the goat.  The lesson is learned.  Pi fully understands.  

Photo courtesy of Life of Pi

When Pi’s family decides to emigrate to Canada to escape the political unrest in India, they take the animals with them on a cargo ship.  When the ship sinks during a storm, Pi finds himself on a life boat in the middle of the ocean with an orangutan, a hyena, a zebra with a broken leg, and the Bengal Tiger.

Hiram Abeysekera portrays Pi as an impressive and ambitious seventeen year old.  His life in India is, as he says, “idyllic.”  He is educated, logical, and passionate.  He is eager and open to experiencing all the world has to offer.  Mr. Abeysekera enacts every detail of Pi’s story with agility, clarity, and precision.  He questions and explores.  He skillfully pulls back to draw the audience in, then freely opens up to relieve the tension.  He delivers a truly inspired performance.  The audience follows him, cares for him, and feels with him.     

Photo courtesy of Life of Pi

Every moment of spectacle in this production serves the telling of the story.  The audience is transported to a dangerous and mystical world.  

Don’t miss Life of Pi.  Get your ticket today!

Domenick Danza