Alicante ARNICCHES THEATER
Rating: 1/2
Dramaturgy and direction: Roberto Hoyo. Company: Leamok
The production aims to capture the sensibilities of Generation Y and Generation Z, those growing up at the start of a digitized, hyperconnected era. The Internet, the cityscape, and Japanese influences converge in Hanle, a piece by the Valencian company Leamok, founded in 2019. It stands as a contemporary reinterpretation of a Shakespearean classic, a free-spirited take on Hamlet that reflects today’s cultural landscape.
One performer warns that if any viewer hopes to see a traditional rendering, those expectations are unlikely to be met. And the warning rings true. What echoes of Shakespeare’s tragedy remain are incidental rather than direct, with scenes that reveal courage bordering on recklessness. The famous dilemma to be or not to be appears in fragments, framed by themes of crime, revenge, and mortality.
The production engages with current realities, blending in elements of trap music and a certain raw immediacy that echoes the mood of modern challenges. It invites questions about the role of online self-help resources in our lives, the impact of the digital network on personal happiness, and how social media exerts influence over daily choices. It asks audiences to reflect on such dependencies.
The landscape, while evocative, does not attempt to map every literary or theatrical avenue suggested by the original work. The piece embraces the broader possibilities of interpretation within the tradition of theatre, guided by the artistic direction of Roberto Hoyo, with the participation of actor L. Carlos Gómez.
Against the backdrop of the described conditions, the creators contribute a blend of theatrically charged moments and a deliberately provocative stance designed to resonate with younger spectators. The performers display metallic symbols like katana and samurai swords as emblems of power, drawing attention to strategies commonly found in popular video games and the tension between control and chaos as darkness edges toward triumph.
Human ordinariness continues to flourish amid constructed environments and manufactured glamour. The message is clear: rather than retreat from theatre, the audience is invited to defend its value and relevance in a contemporary world that often prefers noise to nuance.