Next Act's "The Last White Man" is a Clever Examination of "Hamlet"
In 1993 I saw Kenneth Branagh play the moody Dane in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of Hamlet at the Barbican. It was one of the most breathtaking pieces of theater I have ever seen and after the curtain came down I declared, as I walked out into the London drizzle, that I would never see the play again: I had seen it done perfectly, no other productions could hold a candle to it, and I could move on.
In Bill Cain’s play The Last White Man, running at Next Act Theatre through May 8, the character Xandri (Demetria Thomas) has a similar idea. A Black, female director, she wants to produce Hamlet one last time – create a truly perfect version of Shakespeare’s greatest work – so that we can all move on and focus on new stories and new voices.
But over the course of the play, we discover one reason why Hamlet is produced so often, four centuries after it was written: the title role is an irresistible challenge for white male actors. One of them refers to it as the “Everest” of performance. And so, The Last White Man illustrates the power – and challenge – of the play by focusing on three different men assigned to play the part, how they understand it, how they approach it, and how the experience of playing the complex role changes them.
The first actor we see tackling the daunting role is Charlie (Ken Miller), a young, handsome, hotshot Hollywood actor who has just brought home his first Oscar. Wanting to prove that he’s more than a pretty face, he signs on for the lead in Hamlet to show the world that he is an actor with a capital A. But he’s terrified. Even though Xandri is an old university friend, the pressure of getting this famous part right has him shook – so much so that he can’t even attempt the character’s most famous speech – “To be, or not to be,” etc. Haunted by comparisons to his late father, a noted poet, Charlie takes his frustrations out on everyone around him, channeling a cocky Tom Cruise.
The second actor who steps in to play Hamlet in this seemingly doomed production is Rafe (JJ Gatesman), an ambitious, overly-confident young thespian who longs for the starring role. Rafe has a talent for reading people and sussing out their weaknesses. He thrives on confrontation and has no doubt that he knows best. When he is told by another actor that perhaps he’s just not good enough to play the lead, but instead is more suited for supporting roles, it breaks his heart.
The final actor we see assailing the role is Tigg (Brian J. Gill), a more experienced performer who is a bit past the height of his fame as an actor, but longs to test himself with a truly challenging role. As a star who’s already “made it,” and sees the end of his career creeping up quickly, his perspective on the role is informed by a wealth of experience that the other two actors don’t have. Tigg’s approach to the part, and to the rest of the cast, is very different. Yet he is also desperate to be Hamlet because he is fighting against time, having been diagnosed with a terminal disease.
The play starts off very slowly, focusing on a literary analysis of why Hamlet is considered a classic, and why it should still be performed. As we get to know the characters, we become more invested in their connections to the part – and understand more fully why Xandri wants to retire this classic once and for all. And watching three different takes on one of the most complex roles in the canon is interesting. There’s even a dramatic “the show must go on” frenzy about the performance that the audience glimpses. But it’s not until the final bows that the message of The Last White Man really hits home. And when the penny drops, it’s a delightful surprise.
Playwright Bill Cain is an enormous “Shakespeare geek,” as director David Cecsarini writes in his program notes. An accomplished dramatist, he actually founded a Shakespeare theater in Boston. He is also author of Equivocation, a reimagination of Shakespeare’s struggles to write a play commissioned by King James I about the Gunpowder plot. This is a playwright and a scholar who knows every nuance, every character arc, every comma in the bard’s folios inside and out. For him to write a play with the thesis that Hamlet should be retired seems like blasphemy. And then, over the course of 2 hours, he uses the characters of The Last White Man to deftly illustrate why that should never happen.
In his three leading men, Cain illustrates all of Hamlet’s struggles, strengths, foibles, and flaws. And in doing so, he makes the case that Hamlet contains multitudes, in a way that few other characters in drama can even begin to approach. Hamlet’s famous indecision, fear, desperation, self-doubt, paternal haunting, rage, frustration, hotheaded missteps, dalliance with madness, real consideration of ending his life, love, betrayal, loyalty. . . as the three actors approach Hamlet they each bring these facets of themselves to the Dane who embodies them all.
And the production that puts this genius play about a play together does so solidly. Cecsarini’s direction is clear and straightforward, although his spare set design is painfully minimalist. His scrim-shrouded, upstage playing area reserved for sword fights adds a nice dimension to the playing space. Miller’s Charlie is fine, but jumps between emotional extremes in the blink of an eye, and without much subtlety. As Rafe, JJ Gatesman is a wonderful encapsulation of youthful ambition, a man who dreams of playing the hero but finds his true calling in helping others succeed. Demetria Thomas is a convincing mouthpiece for modern theater practitioners who are tired of the classics. As the play unfolds, her Xandri does a good job of uncovering new layers of her character, who is a bit more calculating than she first lets on. Frankly, it’s also nice to hear a woman of color voice some very valid criticism of the play and its hallowed status.
As the actor who finally does deliver eight “perfect” performances of Hamlet, Brian J. Gill is a delight. He gives a textured portrayal of the veteran actor Tigg, a man covering up real demons with a song and a smile, who realizes he’s in over his head many times, and who chooses “to be” very deliberately. The audience shares in his triumph as Gill stumbles his way through the play and then soars.
For a show about the difficulty of putting on a play, the Next Act production has had its own share of troubles and understudies. Early performances were canceled due to illness in the cast and Cecsarini found himself onstage at least once as a last minute replacement. As the players approach their final weekend of performances, I wish them all very good health so many more audience members can experience the sly genius of both Hamlet and The Last White Man.