Carmina Burana loudly introduces a mysterious trial in a theatrical (mainly of the absurd) manner, the heart of which involves a presentation of Hamlet. Prosecutors in boxes on one side of a black-curtained box set are balanced by the defense (Joseph Hernandez, worried but indignant as the defendant, an actor of Hamlet accused of murdering Claudius the King, with Virginie Fraignac as his unnerved attorney). But the fulcrum, upstage, of ditzy presiding judge (expressive Cerisette) surrounded by Advocate General (devious-acting Christian Imberdis) and Greffier (Joseph Hernandez as passive Court Clerk) easily swings over to absurdities. The prosecuting attorney is not only sexy but indulges in sex before the court! Public faces hide private feelings, and identities get confused. It is deconstruction theory realized at its most destructive.
In the following play outside of the play, the murder of the man who'd played the king is reconstructed under a keen judge (Philippe Sivy, moving forcefully about in a wheelchair) on the set. Candice Cavallero is a poignant Ophelia, foil to Clara Besson's sympathetic Queen Gertrude, far removed from her previous seductive attorney role. Yet Laertes-like Laurent Dray attacks her, and not even a psychiatrist can stop the general melee in which a storm outside underscores erratic interchangings among the entire cast in new roles and configurations. Finally, the director is thrown out.
Choreography that gets everyone moving on the small box set with efficiency yet distinctiveness is a major strength in depicting the erratic actions involved in the trial and enigmatic nature of the search for what truly happened in Hamlet and by Hamlet.
Verdict: Heavy and by no means a usual Shakespeare knockoff.
