Luminato/Teatro La Plaza: Hamlet. Written and directed by Chela De Ferrari, with actors Octavio Bernaza, Jaime Cruz, Lucas Demarchi, Manuel García, Diana Gutierrez, Cristina León Barandiarán, Ximena Rodríguez, and Álvaro Toledo. In Spanish with English surtitles. June 13, 2025 at Harbourfront Theatre, Toronto.
It may be the only production of Hamlet in the world that ends with an audience participation dance party.
There have been many, many stagings of the work of Shakespeare that take it into unfamiliar and unanticipated territory, it’s true.
But, surely, it is the only Hamlet to end with both a defiant rap song and an audience participation dance party.
That’s the work of Peru’s Teatro La Plaza and their powerful riff on Shakespeare’s classic tale of fatal indecision.
Teatro La Plaza: Hamlet
Where the Elizabethan bard focused on the tragedy of his flawed hero’s inability to decide and act, Teatro La Plaza and its cast of eight actors with Down’s Syndrome chose to spotlight a line from one of his iconic monologues.
To be or not to be?
What is it to be in a world that would prefer you just don’t exist, and hide if you must?
The back wall of the stage is a screen, and the performance begins there with the unapologetic video of the birth of a child with Down’s Syndrome. It opens the play by framing the piece with their experiences, and a bit of a shock factor, depending on your sensibilities.
The doctors measure the newborn’s skull, a proportion which is often used to diagnose Down’s. It pulls the audience directly into the core of the play: what is it like to be the other in our world?
The Play
Don’t even think you are going to see that Hamlet….
The play proceeded more or less in the same sequence of scenes as Shakespeare’s original script. Some scenes are played as a theatrical scene, but with dimensions that were unique to their characters and situation.
Each of the eight actors takes on a variety of roles during the performance, including a turn with the crown as Hamlet. Through it, each was allowed to showcase their strengths. Luca Demarchi performed a mesmerizing ribbon dance both on stage and in a video segment.
Cristina León Barandiarán often acted as the narrator, and introduced scenes, and in the opening, the cast.
“If I blank, just wait for a bit,” says Octavio Bernaza during the introductions. While that may have been true, his bravado and stage presence kept up the momentum. He was a fine, swaggering Claudius the betrayer.
Sometimes, the flow of the play cut instead to the workshops they’d held, and rehearsals. In one scene, Jaime Cruz, who most often wore Hamlet’s crown, conjured the spirits of previous Hamlets from Sir Lawrence Olivier to Ian McKellen and more to help him interpret the script.
Stark Truth
Before going into the theatre, the ushers were careful to let audience members know there would be swearing, sexual situations, and ableism, among other things.
The play pulls no punches. “Your children will be imbeciles!” Ophelia’s father yells at her. “You’re not like other girls!”
There’s a scene where the three actresses, Ximena Rodríguez, Diana Gutiérrez, and Cristina León Barandiarán, are asked about their hopes and dreams. What do they wish for? A boyfriend. A job. To raise their own children.
It’s followed by Ophelia’s death scene, which is titled ‘The death of all dreams’. It’s a heartrending depiction of the realities the actors face outside the theatre. Actress Ximena Rodríguez was convincing and affecting in the role. We felt her frustrations, and her despair.
“Isn’t it better to forget impossible dreams?” It’s one of the troubling and lingering questions posed in and by the work.
In one of the opening scenes, Barandiarán’s narrator asks Cruz’s Hamlet a series of questions.
“Would you have preferred to be born without Down’s Syndrome?” she asks.
“Yes,” Cruz replies, “I’ve fallen in love with a neurotypical girl.”
It’s one of many examples where the truth and the comedy of the play collide. It delivers truth in all its messy and stark reality with an edge of humour.
‘We Would Rather Suffer Than Die’
The play takes the audience on an emotional journey to understanding, with performances that were universal in their sense of conviction, and commitment to the message.
There were also some unusual additions to the Hamlet canon.
A defiant rap song brought all the actors back on stage, and the cast passionately delivered a message about living their lives as they are — as fellow humans. Not mistakes. Not defects who require correction.
The performance ended with a raucous dance party where the audience was invited to join in.
It’ was a fitting finale for a compelling work of theatre lit up by the performances of eight dynamic performers.
Are you looking to promote an event? Have a news tip? Need to know the best events happening this weekend? Send us a note.
#LUDWIGVAN
Get the daily arts news straight to your inbox.
Sign up for the Ludwig Van Toronto e-Blast! — local classical music and opera news straight to your inbox HERE.
- PREVIEW | Crossroads Theatre Announces Summer in the Park: August 22 To 24 In Weston - July 15, 2025
- PREVIEW | Pianist Janina Fialkowska In Recital At The Elora Festival - July 15, 2025
- THE SCOOP | The 37th Annual Toronto Fringe Festival Announces 2025 Award Recipients — And More Than $577K Shared With Creators - July 14, 2025
