SHAKESPEARE CATEGORISED COMEDIES AS EVERYONE GETS MARRIED IN THE END, AND TRAGEDIES AS EVERYONE DIES IN THE END

By Sophie Clark | Muck Rack Portfolio ⭐⭐⭐⭐ | Press Invite

HAM asks, what if the fate of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedy, Hamlet, is that everyone dies in the end? All of us.

If all the world’s a stage and all the men and women [and non-binary creatives] merely players, then surely we are implicated in our collective tragedy.

Created by Hotter Project’s duo Mary Higgins and Ell Potter, playing Hamlet, and Gertrude (and the ghost), respectively, HAM is a sometimes very funny, sometimes extremely bleak exploration of veganism, climate change, collective responsibility, and individual choices.

The play channels the petulant moralistic leanings of Shakespeare’s teenage protagonist into a militant vegan who, instead of believing his mother helped to kill his father, believes his mother is killing the whole planet by continuing to eat meat.

It strikes a largely healthy balance between Hamlet’s intense moralism, which, like Hamlet’s search for vengeance, is correct but frequently expressed as madness, and Gertrude’s pragmatism.

The play also asks great questions around whether a teenage boy can or should lecture his mother on bodily autonomy and how to make difficult choices.

It’s also, thankfully, self deprecating about the premise. To paraphrase Ell, “Who needs another f**cking Hamlet?”

Without giving too much away, the play is raucous at times and devastating at others. It operates around the general structure of Hamlet (including a ghost) whilst also including fourth-wall-breaking interludes from ‘the real’ Ell and Mary. Much like Hamlet, it’s sort of a play within a play.

Like many shows which originated at Edinburgh Fringe, it relies heavily on audience investment and openmindedness, which fortunately was the spirit on press night.

The show lost me at times. Whilst it was more self aware than other activist productions I’ve seen, it could have lost the powerpoints and the use of statistics.

If the point of art is to cut through to people, then there’s no need for the typical climate talking points which make people glaze over.

Additionally, while HAM’s call to action around climate disasters certainly hits home, it fails to tackle the vastly more substantial impact of the top 1% on the climate.

One person going vegan is admirable and does have an impact, but I can’t help but think about Taylor Swift’s private jets every time I defrost a Linda McCartney.

This could have been better imagined into Hamlet’s status as the Prince of Denmark. He is the ruling class, surely going vegan is just a small act for his kingdom.

Some Edinburgh Fringe shows work perfectly inside and outside the Fringe bubble. Others are perfect for the whacky esoteric festival but don’t find their footing as much outside of it.

While HAM fits better into the latter category, it’s still an excellent production for those willing to shirk the straight-laced streets of central London in favour of a bit of Fringe spirit.

I can see HAM becoming a cult-favourite. Something that fans of future Hotter Project productions can point to and say ‘I saw them when…’

I would highly recommend it to people who are trying to figure out how to communicate about the climate crisis in a new way. And, I look forward to seeing what Hotter Project does next.

Ham is running at Soho Theatre until Saturday 31 October.

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Photo Credit: Jonny Ruff