Reviews of Living Dead in Denmark
Nothing rotten about zombie Hamlet
by Rajkhet Dirzhud-Rashid
Seattle Gay News A&E Writer
Living Dead In Denmark
Directed by Lisa Glomb
Starring May Nguyen, Jose Abaoag, Marvin Newton
Tadd Alexander, Phillip Clarke, Miko Premo, Deniece Bleha
Benjamin Elterman, Bryan Bender, Andrew Nelson
Theatre Off Jackson
Through May 24
I've seen a lot of versions of William Shakespeare's Hamlet, including the very funny Hamlet, The Musical, at Annex Theatre (in its first incarnation in Belltown years ago), and a very bad movie version that featured some top-name actors including Bill Murray. Ah, but if you too have had your fill of the play about a moody prince of Denmark, and the stinking things that occur in that play, you ain't seen nothin' yet. No, not unless you've seen the version, set in some not-named, distant future, after the apocalypse has happened, with zombies. This is presented in Qui Nguyen's Living Dead In Denmark, and you have not truly experienced Hamlet until you've seen it.
Strongly resembling a stage version of South Park meets Saturday Night Live or Mad TV, Living is at once a comedy and an action play. The last because there are lots of fight scenes and mock stabbings, as well as some really campy humorous scenes where zombies appear and the three heroines of the play (Miko Premo, Deniece Bleha and May Nguyen) get beaten up a lot. Ah, but they're indestructible, so they bounce back. I won't reveal a later plot twist, but let's just say they have something secret that keeps them coming back, fight after fight.
Funny enough to keep even the most jaded audience member laughing, the only awkward moment in the show came on opening night, when Hamlet (Bryan Bender) kissed a male character, Horatio (Benjamin Elterman) after killing him, and there was an "eww" from some anonymous audience member. Ah well, that's why we keep marching and trying to educate people outside of Capitol Hill, yes? Go see the show, and take a sense of wonder with you, and know this is like no Shakespeare you've ever seen, unless the Bard wrote something while under the influence that I've never heard of. For tickets and times, call 206-325-6500, or go online to www.ticketwindowonline.com, or to www.porkfilled.com.
Exciting, funny, cheesy
Joe Adcock, Seattle Post Intelligencer
Just as things are getting a little ho-hum, along come the ninja zombies. These undead fighters really know how to make a scene come alive.
Before pulses can return to normal, there's a startling revelation. Not only does Fortinbras worship evil; he's also bionic -- quite an asset if your aim is total domination of the planet.
If that name "Fortinbras" rings a bell, yes, you're right; he's the Norwegian prince who shows William Shakespeare's Hamlet how a real man handles power. In Qui Nguyen's "Living Dead in Denmark," an action-adventure farce that shamelessly shanghais Shakespeare's characters, Fortinbras means to set magic creatures from "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "The Tempest" and "Macbeth" against zombies. The living dead guerrilla fighters are refugees from "Macbeth," "Romeo and Juliet" and "Hamlet." A few regular human beings -- Hamlet's buddy Horatio, for one -- must fend off both magics and zombies.
Is that clear? No? Well rest assured, clarity is not a "Living Dead" asset.
The show, a Pork Filled Players production at Theatre Off Jackson, does, however, boast some strong acting, a bit of interesting singing and loads and loads of martial arts, gymnastics and just plain meaningless violence -- all of it pleasantly ludicrous.
In his shameless ransacking of "Hamlet," Nguyen even manages a bit of pathos. A puppet version of Laertes is compulsively searching for his dead sister Ophelia.
In "Hamlet," Ophelia is a forlorn wimp who commits suicide. In "Living Dead" she is a tough karate kid. She doesn't know who she is and what she is. But she's ready to take on, and thrash, anyone who looks at her funny.
As the formerly poetic, philosophical and brooding Hamlet, Bryan Bender is hilariously shallow as a zombie slacker dude in search of a way excellent adventure. Andrea Nelson is a torchy and fickle Titania, Queen of the Fairies. As Juliet, Miko Premo portrays a geek with a secret. Leave it to Lady Macbeth, a closety bulldyke zombie, to bring the truth to light.
"Living Dead" is a professional triumph for fight choreographer Lisa Marie Nakamura. She has the performers battling with daggers, swords, a garbage can lid, hands, feet and, best of all, lengthy sections of intestine. Those zombies! They stop at nothing.
Pork Filled Players director Lisa Anne Glomb keeps the action racing, sometimes with the help of heavy-metal underscoring. Her show may be nonsense, but it is clever and entertaining nonsense.
Seattle Weekly Thread Count
Living Dead in Denmark
When: Thursday, May 15, 8:00 p.m.
Where: Theatre Off Jackson
Were you a Shakespeare hater back in high school?
You know, the kind who doodled all over their copy of Hamlet, only knew the famous "To be or not to be" line, and only liked the 1968 film production of Romeo and Juliet because Olivia Hussey nearly bared all in front of the freshmen English class?
Admittedly, that was me (please don’t tell Mrs. Smith).
And if you’re any bit like me, then Pork Filled Players and Qui Nguyen’s Living Dead in Denmark will be right up your alley.
The combat-filled, live-action sketch comedy is full of Shakespearean hilarity. Yes, they make Shakespeare funny. And even if you didn’t study up, there’s still plenty to laugh about for the average Joe (like Marvin Newton, pictured above).
The two-hour show features some impressive combat scenes and well-executed, third-rate special effects worth a side-splitting laugh (watch for the beheading special).
Miko Premo (Juliet), Marvin Newton (Guildenstern, gravedigger, and Witch), and Deniece Bleha (Lady Macbeth) all deliver excellent performances.
My only complaint: The Thursday night show was fairly empty, so it was hard to get into the comedy without others laughing beside me.
So head to Denmark for the zombie action soon (the finale is May 24). And bring plenty of friends.
FAQs
| Reviews | Past Shows | Bios | Next show | Home
