Shakespeare and Company's production of Hamlet last night at the Founders' Theatre in Lenox was very enjoyable. The director, Eleanor Holdridge, managed to add a few original tricks to the staging, making it stand out from more traditional performances. Loud, unexpected crackling sounds. blinking lights (designed by Les Dickert), a stark black and white set (designed by Edward Check), and full use of available space combined to make this modern day Hamlet a sensory treat.

Jason Asprey was more than competent in the titular role. His physicality was one of his assets, enabling him to prance, jab, melee and riposte with ease and naturality. Elizabeth Raetz was excellent as Ophelia, her eyes sparkling one moment, brimming with tears the next. Her slight form and soprano vocals added poignancy to her role. Kevin O'Donnell brought all of the suffering but no filial playfulness to his role as Laertes.

Costume Designer Jessica Ford chose smart suits for the powerful, hip casuals for the young, and ostentatious colors for the comic. Gun-toting, fatigue-clad soldiers were an incongruous denouement to the sword-fighting  climax, however.

One can't help but find similarities between the Denmark of the play and the United States of today. Corruption, leadership by mediocrity, squelching of talent, and silencing of dissent resonate throughout the play, reminding us of Shakespeare's timelessness and relevance. 

Much is rotten in the state of Denmark, indeed. How can people of conscience, such as Hamlet, fight for (social) justice, work to depose those wrongly empowered, and still strive for love's fulfillment? If the system is mad, must we be mad to thrive? And must we, too, fall in order to bring down the corrupt and treacherous with us?

This production of Hamlet brings these questions to our consciousness, in a word that sorely needs expanded consciousness.