Review: The Stage: My Brooklyn Hamlet in London

http://www.thestage.co.uk/reviews/review.php/28608/my-brooklyn-hamlet&ct=ga&cad=:s7:f2:v1:i2:lt:e0:p0:t1276718728:&cd=oVsg02LlQs4&usg=AFQjCNGYcmCq-Q89YpMf6a7CPjKXoaTSkg

My Brooklyn Hamlet

Published Wednesday 16 June 2010 at 12:08 by Jonathan Lovett

Before the play begins we’re told this is a true story.

After a lifetime of break-ups, ferocious arguments and passionate reconciliations, Brenda Adelman’s father shot her mother in the head and married the dead woman’s sister.

Strong stuff indeed, but what’s even more eyebrow raising is that Adelman herself is the writer and performer, so presenting a fascinating example of theatre as self-help.

Taking on the personas of feckless, skirt-chasing father and exasperated, bohemian-loving mum, Adelman also places her younger selves in the frame to present an engaging portrait of a dysfunctional Brooklyn family and moving pictures from the psychiatrist’s couch.

Carefully avoiding sensation or sentimentality, Adelman’s dialogue is direct and prosaic. Perhaps too prosaic on occasions, as a little more lyricism could have raised the dramatic temperature and ensured the chunks of Hamlet quoted near the end do not jar so blatantly.

But the power of the story carries this through, along with the winning personality of the flame-haired performer who seems to have successfully dealt with her demons and found a happier ending than the troubled Prince of Denmark.