40/39

Struggling actors Sam and Mark find solace in their isolation by playing Hamlet in Grand Theft Auto Online (2022), battling the grieving while connecting through William Shakespeare. Grand Theft Hamlet is a hilarious, moving, and inspiring documentary where just reading the premise will grab your interest. The documentary takes place in January 2021, and the United Kingdom is still in lockdown due to COVID-19; to pass the time, two actors, Sam Crane and Mark Oosterveen, decide to play Grand Theft Auto Online. While playing the game, they find an almost hard-to-find area in the game, an amphitheater, called The Vinewood Bowl (inspired by the real-life Hollywood Bowl in LA), which serves as a concert and event venue. A fun idea came through this discovery – a digital production of Hamlet. They decide to play a few monologues from the play, which results in hilarious moments where they are interrupted by other players opening fire on them, so they fire 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 game through GTA, create auditions in the game online to get people on board, hold rehearsals, block it, and eventually live stream the event. But this comes with its own challenges and difficulties, such as organizing the production in the world of video games. Whether it is problems with the internet connection, availability, or other players interrupting the rehearsal, it all becomes a massive headache and affects everyone involved. The funniest part of the documentary is the ridiculousness. There were lots of laughs from everyone, including me. But what surprised me was how personal and, oddly, thought-provoking it was. There comes a point where they wonder why they’re doing this and why this stupid idea is causing so much stress. Some of them have families to take care of, and some of them have jobs. But for some, it gives them purpose, drive, and a therapeutic escape. So, this stupidity gives someone a reason to keep going. Or a part where a cast member, who is trans, finds a deep connection to the play and the character of Hamlet, because when they told their family members that they’re trans, they realized that they didn’t know their characters right up until the ugly truth. They become more distant than before. Shakespeare’s text still has relevance – and what amazes me is the different interpretations that people can get from the play. While I was watching, it made me think about certain things. Yes, Grand Theft Hamlet made me think about things. After the screening, I had a short Q&A with Mark Oosterveen. I’ve never been to a Q&A before, and I’m glad I stuck around because I learned a lot more about the documentary. Mark had something compelling to say about his acting style, which is a mix of puppetry (controlling your in-game avatar) and voice acting (using a headset microphone to speak online). But what’s even crazier and more surreal is that the Royal Shakespeare Company contacted them asking if they had recorded the live-streamed performance so they could show it to young people and get them interested in Shakespeare. Not bad. Overall rating: the wildest and most wonderful documentaries out there.

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