Ophelia’s in charge
Shakespeare’s heroine takes control in a movie and a video game
BY EMILY ROME >>> Ophelia appears in just five scenes of “Hamlet.” She speaks barely 150 lines in William Shakespeare’s longest play. But the tragic character whose story ends in “muddy death” has a life that stretches far beyond the pages of the play.
“Hamlet” gets two new updates this summer in projects that put the spotlight on the title character’s love interest: The film “Ophelia,” starring Daisy Ridley, opened recently and is currently available on VOD; the point-and-click adventure game “Elsinore,” named for Hamlet’s home, will be released on July 22.
Both projects retell the story of a character best remembered for going mad and then drowning herself in a brook. Both take Ophelia from a side character to the central heroine of her own story, a narrative that seems more fitting in a time of female empowerment and #MeToo.
The film “Ophelia” is based on a 2006 young-adult novel of the same title, which author Lisa Klein wrote after years of teaching “Hamlet” at Ohio State University.
“My students, especially my female students, were all just so annoyed at Ophelia for being so passive and meek and throwing herself in a brook when Hamlet mistakenly kills her father rather than confronting him about it,” Klein said.
Meanwhile, an Ophelia who exercises what agency she has was also of interest to the creators of “Elsinore.”
“There are lots of forces beyond her
What’s it like to play Ophelia? Six actresses shared their memories of portraying the character:
Harriet Walter 1980 Royal Court Theatre production directed by Richard Eyre
“Ophelia can sometimes be portrayed as a generic damsel in distress, and I wanted to avoid that. I enjoyed being able to be very detailed in a relatively intimate theater. Ophelia is a rather subdued character until she is ‘released’ into madness, and therefore it was the subtle gestures and looks that helped build the person.”
Diane Venora 1990 Public Theater production directed by Kevin Kline and Kirk Browning
“The key [to Ophelia’s madness] for me was in Claudius’ line, ‘O, this is the poison of deep grief ! It springs all from her father’s death.’ […] I intentionally chose lucidity — a state beyond tears, speaking with clarity and connecting deeply to each person onstage rather than choosing confused mumblings or the clichés of ‘crazy.’ ”
Lynn Collins 1999 Public Theater production directed by Andrei Serban
“My first role ever onstage was Ophelia, at age 15. It was a very healing experience for me to play it again at 21. … The director, Andrei Serban, decided that it was about all of these men trying to control her, manipulating her, and that is what led her to madness. She has to go to another level to sustain her life, and then she takes her life when it’s unsustainable.”
Julia Stiles 2000 film directed by Michael Almereyda
“I loved playing her demise, oddly. Michael allowed us to embellish the text because of the modernity of the film, and I got to scream at the top of my lungs in the Guggenheim. That said, we had also discussed the truth behind her craziness, her sentience, so it was not just playing hysteria. … We filmed the drowning in a fountain in New York in November. I passed out after the third take, but it was a badge of honor for me to be re-creating that iconic image.”
Jennie Greenberry 2016 Oregon Shakespeare Festival production directed by Lisa Peterson
“One of the production’s composers ([Neurosis band member] Scott Kelly) and I collaborated on writing the melodies of Ophelia's songs. They come from such a primal and deeply vulnerable place in her, and we wanted to make sure the music reflected that. It was an incredible experience and really cemented that sense of ownership of the role.”
Mimi Ndiweni 2018 Royal Shakespeare Company tour directed by Simon Godwin
“I said to [director Simon Godwin] very early on, ‘I don’t believe in the idea that people just go crazy.’ Everyone that I know that has been referred to with the term ‘crazy,’ it’s always been because of a miscommunication. So when I was approaching Ophelia, it was about finding the triggers for her that meant that she couldn’t communicate effectively. Simon was very generous in saying to me, ‘Run with that!’ ”