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The Play’s The Thing

'To Bare or Not to Bare... that is the question'

Hamlet isn't just one of Shakespeare's longest, and most staged plays, it's also one of it's most quotable.  So many iconic quotes that made their way into the mainstream, some still used in conversation today.  It's no surprise that productions of the classic theatre piece are staged in Summer in the Park productions all around the country every summer.

This particular production didn't originate as an all-male, or all-naked event, it actually began with the nude female form.  Director and founder of the Torn Out Theater Company, Pitr Strait actually started with an all nude female production of The Tempest back in 2016. One of Strait's goals with the nude production was to promote body positivity.

After one of the shows performances one night, one of the audience members thanked Strait for not subjecting them to the sight of naked men.  This touched a nerve for Strait, as the whole body positivity message was obviously missed by this particular audience member. 

'People said we could never do this with men and no one wants to see a naked man. The more we read these reactions and comments, there seemed to be this threat about men feeling like their bodies are inherently unattractive or unwanted.'

Encouraged by strong reactions to the play, both in the audience and online, they formed the Torn Out Theater Company, with the goal to continue exploring modern sexuality, gender, and the body.  The following summer, the company put together an all-nude production of Hamlet, performed in two New York City parks, one being Central Park.

'We had about the same size audience as we did for The Tempest, maybe a bit bigger, because we have a bit of a history now. We got about the same number of jackass kids riding by on their bicycles yelling shit. This year, I think there were a few more shocked faces in the crowd when the first naked male bodies started walking around.'

Most of the actors were a little apprehensive at first.  Although they knew the production may include nudity, they auditioned for Shakespeare's Hamlet, not Old Calcutta.   The producers deliberately put 'may' as not all the roles required nudity.  They also didn't want to scare off any great actors from auditioning and learning about the production.

Every production of Hamlet has it's challenges, and for many of the actors, the nudity just proved to be one of many things they had to juggle. For Jake Austin Robertson, who played Hamlet, remembering when in the play he was to take off his costume was just another thing to remember, memorizing all of Shakespeare's dialogue, was the hardest part about taking on the role.

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