No Exit: Insightful Student-Written Play Shows Audience Complicity

In Shakespeare's day, "groundlings" referred to the unruly rabble who crowded into the front pit of the Globe Theater. In Groundlings, author Seth Harrington '00 accuses their modern-day equivalents of living vicariously and irresponsibly through the actors' lives. It's a transgression that must be punished: over the course of this one-act play, Shakespeare's Hamlet finally receives the opportunity to get revenge upon its audience.

Groundlings takes the form of a courtroom drama, in which Christian Roulleau '01--a member of the audience--is forced to stand trial for the murders in Hamlet. The play begins as Judge Titorelli (Max-Joseph Montel '01) takes the stand, while on stage behind him a troupe of actors pantomime Shakespeare's bloody plot. In search of a guilty party, the menacing Bailiff (Young Lee '99) whisks Roulleau out of his seat among the audience and into the witness stand. Prosecuting Counselor Clamence (Claire Farley '01) accuses him of complicity in the actors' murders: by doing nothing to prevent the players' deaths, she argues, Roulleau is no less culpable than a bystander who doesn't warn an oblivious pedestrian in the path of a train. This premise sets Groundlings rolling, and the rest of the one-act play is devoted to Roulleau's Kafka-esque trial. The ensuing action alternates between the troupe's re-enactment of Hamlet's murders, which the prosecution displays in the form of a plaintiff's exhibit, and Roulleau's desperate defense.

Although the notion of Hamlet as meta-drama isn't new to theater (i.e. Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead), Groundlings puts a clever and original spin on Shakespeare's nihilistic drama. Clamence indicts Roulleau for having watched a play, taken vicarious pleasure in the characters' lives, and ultimately refused to take a stake in its consequences. His trial thereby acquires a metaphorical character, addressing the purpose of theater in modern society and the nature of its relationship with its audience. In one tirade, Clamence likens Roulleau's behavior to our usual reaction to TV news; we sit on our sofas, gorge ourselves on violence, and then expect to distance ourselves from its ramifications.

Groundlings' best moments occur when it rises to this level of social commentary. In one scene, Roulleau defends himself by arguing that since Hamlet is fictional and scripted, he shares no responsibility in its events. Clamence responds by instructing the actors to portray some scenes from everyday life: two acquaintances exchange conventional pleasantries; two people vie to see who will hold the door for the other; a student pleads for an extension with her professor. As the audience listens to these stylized dialogues, we realize that Hamlet is no more scripted than the rehearsed set-pieces of our own private and public lives. Groundlings succeeds brilliantly in blurring this line between performance and reality.

In keeping with its premise, Groundlings offers many opportunities for audience participation. Roulleau repeatedly asks the audience to storm out in protest, or to help him overcome the Bailiff. At times, the actors seemed hesitant as to how to respond when no brave audience member was forthcoming. However, the audience's unwillingness to intercede actually strengthened the play's premise, further emphasizing the audience's guilt.

The acting is competent, with Young Lee giving a particularly hilarious performance as the Bailiff, who marches up and down the aisles harassing audience members, occasionally pausing to whack Roulleau with his baton. His presence, at once menacing and amusing, keeps the audience on its toes. As the theatergoer who must suffer for our sins, Roulleau at first nonchalantly flouts the court's authority, making the audience wonder whether he really has been chosen as a random victim. Farley brings a slightly over-the-top vehemence to the role of Clamence.

Groundlings' onlymajor weakness is its tendency to hammer its point too insistently into the audience's minds. After the first few scenes, Roulleau's and Clamence's back-and-forth arguments grow repetitive, leaving the audience with the feeling that not much new ground is being covered. Similarly, the condensed performance of Hamlet that the players provide seems at times unnecessary: though elegantly presented (with notable performances by Ahana Kalappa '01 as Gertrude and Jay Chaffin '00 as Laertes), it perhaps presumes too much ignorance of the plot on the audience's part. But whether seen by a Shakespearean novice or aficionado, Groundlings contributes greatly to our understanding of Hamlet and all its many meta-dramatic implications.