The idea to stage “Hamlet” by William Shakespeare in GTA Online could only occur to newcomers. It was fascinating to watch how two unemployed actors, staying home during the lockdown, got inspired by this and worked towards its realization. Starting in 2021, Sam and Mark finally achieved what they desired the following year. Later, in January 2023, their work was recognized with a first award, and now, after screenings in cinemas, it is being streamed on a streaming service.
Initially, everything seemed less promising. The premiere of the theatrical classic in the game lasts only around 10 minutes of screen time. Everything else is an exhausting routine consisting of casting actors, selecting locations, and other processes usually invisible to the audience. Immediately facing a lack of understanding about their intentions, the team encounters various obstacles: the departure of the leading actor, the death of relatives, and real-life family problems, compounded by the overall psychological state due to being locked down (which weren’t such bad times, were they?). Of course, all this drama seems somewhat wooden, but perhaps because conveying emotion through game characters is simply challenging.
This might have negatively impacted the project, but then Shakespearean monologues are spoken, followed by some characteristic GTA NPC phrases, and it becomes clear that the creators of this idea, even if initially unaware of the outdatedness of the game world, hit the mark. Even notifications constantly appearing on the screen seem to spoil the beautiful scenes, but actually emphasize the authenticity of the concept—everything happens in an open session, which undoubtedly complicates the task. And when in one of the final frames the message “Event completed” appears, there’s an understanding that this also shows how the creators literally discover the game and all the possibilities it offers.
Of course, the same notifications during important scenes and the poor sound recorded with a headset likely looked and sounded awful in the cinema. Here, a question reasonably arises, already posed in user reviews on rating aggregator sites: “Why release a video in theaters that could simply be uploaded to YouTube?”. But that’s more of a distribution question. Overall, the creators did an excellent job. They not only accomplished what they set out to do but also managed to present it to the world (read: sell) effectively, which is also very important and necessary.
Even though for many viewers, Grand Theft Hamlet might be too unconventional and elaborate, it’s a great way to experience a classic in an unusual format, making it certainly not a waste of one and a half hours.
Source: gta.com.ua