42/43
Actors Sam and Mark, struggling to survive isolation due to lockdown, find solace in portraying Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto Online (2022), where they battle the afflicted while connecting through William Shakespeare. Grand Theft Hamlet is a hilarious, heartwarming, and inspiring documentary where just reading the premise grabs your interest. The documentary takes place in January 2021, with the UK still in lockdown due to COVID-19; to pass a significant amount of time, two actors, Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, decide to play Grand Theft Auto Online. While playing, they find an area in the game that is almost hard to find, an amphitheater, called The Vinewood Bowl (inspired by the real-life Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles), which serves as a concert and event venue. From this discovery came a fun idea: a digital production of Hamlet. They decide to act out some monologues from the play, which leads to hilarious moments where they are interrupted by other players opening fire on them, so they shoot back, and then the SWAT team quickly arrives on the scene to escalate the chaos even further. The funny thing is that he is still delivering his soliloquy while shooting at the police. The entire documentary is in the video game, and the gameplay footage is recorded. However, a funny idea turns into a serious project. The plan is to make the entire Hamlet play through GTA, organize auditions in the online game for people to join in, hold rehearsals, crash it, and eventually live stream the event. But this comes with its challenges and difficulties, such as organizing the production in the world of video games. Whether it’s issues with internet connection, availability, or other players disrupting the rehearsal, it all becomes a huge headache and takes a toll on everyone involved. The funniest part of the documentary is how ridiculous it all is. There was a lot of laughter from everyone, including me. But what struck me was how personal and, oddly, thought-provoking it was. There comes a point where they question why they are doing this and why this silly idea is causing them so much stress. Some of them have families to support and some of them have jobs. But for some, it gives them purpose, drive and therapeutic escapism. So, this stupid thing is giving someone a reason to keep going. Or a part where a cast member, who is trans, finds a deep connection with the play and the character of Hamlet because when he told his relatives he was trans, he realized he didn’t meet his proper characters until he learned the harsh truth. They became more distant than before. Shakespeare’s text still has relevance, and what surprises me is the different interpretations people can get from the play. While watching it, it made me reflect on certain things. Yes, Grand Theft Hamlet made me reflect on a few things. After the screening, we had a short Q&A with Mark Oosterveen. I’d never attended a Q&A before and I’m glad I stuck around because I learned a lot more about the documentary. Mark had some compelling things to say about his acting style in this one, which is a mix of puppetry (controlling your avatar in the game) and voice work (using a headset microphone to speak online). But what’s even crazier and more unreal is that the Royal Shakespeare Company got in touch with them to ask if they had the performance recorded live so they could show it to younger people and get them interested in Shakespeare. Not bad. Overall rating: The wildest and most wonderful documentaries out there.