The actors of ‘Hamlet’ perform a scene following the death of Ophelia. Aquila Theatre brought the Shakespearean classic to the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts stage. Courtesy of Aquila Theatre

A performance brought a Shakespearean classic on revenge to the local stage.

Aquila Theatre performed “Hamlet” at the Columbia Theatre for the Performing Arts on Saturday, Feb. 24 at 7:30 p.m. Lewis Brown, the actor for the character Hamlet, shared his thoughts on the performance.

“I kind of think about it over the couple of hours after the show’s finished to really think about what’s going on and what’s happened,” said Brown “I enjoyed it. I felt a connection with the audience, which was lovely, but I just need time to analyze it really and let the experience settle in.”

Brown discussed the primary challenge he faced in portraying Hamlet.

“I found the main crux of it being the connection with his father just because personally I don’t know my dad,” said Brown. “I never have, and then on top of that, I haven’t lost a dad. He hasn’t died. So, I had to do a lot of talking to people about their relationships with their dad and how that felt. I found out that was something I had to completely create because I never had that relationship before. So, I didn’t know how it would feel like. My mom lost her dad, so I spoke a lot to her about it and what that was like.”

For Michael Rivers, who played Bernardo, Guildenstern, and Laertes, the most difficult part was “to bring truth to losing a sibling.”

“I find that hard to get into that space because I’ve not had an experience yet touching that, and I just think it’s so momentous,” said Rivers. “It’s hard not to go too far, and it’s hard not to do too little. You just have to react. You just have to see.”

Hyla Beachy decided to attend the play for a class.

“One of the requirements is we have to see a live performance, and I figured since this was a play I had already read, it was the perfect one to come see,” said Beachy. 

Beachy shared her thoughts on the performance.

“I really enjoyed it,” said Beachy. “I especially liked the use of the screen. I thought that was really cool. I haven’t seen a whole lot of theatre performances, so this is one of my firsts. Sometimes, they talked a little fast, which was hard to follow, but overall, I really enjoyed it. I had a good time.”

Rivers had three roles to choose from in deciding his favorite part of the performance. 

“They all have their moments each, so to pick one is tough,” said Rivers. “But I would say I do very much enjoy the sword fighting, the end scenes. It’s good fun.”

Brown enjoyed the language in the play.

“It just takes you on a journey,” said Brown. “The language is like a river, and it just takes you places. It creates emotions inside of you because it’s such a beautiful language.”

Brown shared how he got into theatre.

“I just didn’t like much about anything else about life,” said Brown. “I didn’t really like school. I didn’t like many people, and I just found lots of joy in creating characters, telling stories, being not me really.”

Rivers’ interest in theatre stemmed from preferring storytelling over school.

“I think maybe even at the start it may have been making people laugh, and then it moved into I enjoyed taking people on a journey with me,” said Rivers.

Brown and Rivers encourage people to help theaters.

“You need to support your theaters and donate to theaters whenever you can ‘cause they need your help,” said Brown. “You’ve got some beautiful theaters, but they can’t last without support.”