The Silences of Collective Memory (Performance Review: Hamlet by William Shakespeare, artistic direction and stage adaptation by Declan Donnellan, a production of “Marin Sorescu” National Theatre, Craiova, 2023)

Abstract

A premiere of Hamlet on the stage of the National Theatre in Craiova cannot be a mere triviality or a standalone product. On the contrary, it becomes a theatrical event through its very association with the history of the producing institution, whose precedents with the famous Shakespearean tragedy determine the maturity of the audience’s expectations, but also create the possibility of a resounding failure under the proportional pressure of these expectations. Consequently, it is difficult to analyze Declan Donnellan’s recent production and its impact on the public and critics without a contextual parenthesis explaining the aura of predestination for this production on this stage.