Grand Theft Hamlet stands as proof that sometimes even the worst and most impossible of concepts can still provide a wealth of creative freedom, fulfilment, and ingenuity. It might not depict the future of legit theatre as we know it, but Grand Theft Hamlet suggests that even if everything does go fully online in the future, the results can at least be fitfully amusing.
“Filmed” during London’s third COVID related lockdown in early 2021, Grand Theft Hamlet concerns two out-of-work actors – co-director Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen – doing what a lot of people were doing at the time, playing tons of video games. Chatting away while partaking in a bit of the old ultraviolence in the world of Grand Theft Auto Online, Sam and Mark start to wonder if this technology and surreal, hyper-stylized setting would lend itself to a full-on, in-game production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Enlisting the help of Sam’s director/non-gamer wife, Pinny Grylls, to help capture the footage, run auditions, and help “location scout,” the actors make a genuine go of things until the gradual lifting of pandemic restrictions throws a spanner in the works.
Grand Theft Hamlet isn’t just a silly look back on the ways people tried to keep their skills sharp during a dull and dark time in human history, but a film made for an era where many creative types are being forced into learning tech skills because of a rapidly shrinking arts landscape. It’s often laugh-out-loud hilarious to watch Mark and Sam trying to deliver monologues or conduct business meetings within GTA while dodging bullets from foul mouthed randos and returning fire, but as the production becomes more of an obsession, the differing reasons for Sam and Mark to go ahead with Hamlet are poignant and just as important as the staging itself.
There’s plenty of amusement to be had in a film that admits it’s concept is terrible but they’re going to push on anyway, and also something moving in how the filmmakers are able to find like-minded gamers willing to give themselves wholly and devotedly to such a silly cause. Grand Theft Hamlet is a deeply funny and uniquely hopeful movie for bleak times.
Saturday, April 27, 2024 – 7:45 pm – Scotiabank 5
Monday, April 29, 2024 – 8:30 pm – Scotiabank 5
Saturday, May 4, 2024 – 8:45 pm – Scotiabank 6
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