I asked one patron at the event what he thought of the play. “Hilarious, refreshing, surprising, life-affirming: highly recommended!” Another said “ribald, lascivious, explicit.”
Let’s use those seven descriptions as a springboard to dive into what Fat Ham is all about. But first it must be happily noted that this ultimately very gay play is being performed in Pride Month. Director Ben Wolfe writes this play, offered to us by Austin Playhouse, is “more than just timely.” He elaborates:
“As divisive rhetoric rises and Queer and Black lives are politicized and endangered, Fat Ham insists on the humanity and complexity of those lives. It invites us to imagine a different kind of future – one that celebrates truth-telling, resistance, and pure unadulterated joy.” The play won the 2022 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
If I had to choose just one word to describe this play, I would offer up transgressive, in the sense of violating moral or social boundaries. While the programme notes suggest the action is set in North Carolina, or possibly Virginia, Maryland or Tennessee, the intent is clear: being gay is not Christian, actually said in so many words by the character Rabby.
The lead here is Albert Igbinigie, who plays Juicy, a guy well versed in Shakespeare’s Hamlet (written between 1599 and 1601). He personifies Hamlet himself here, with both Hamlet’s father and uncle Claudius played by Marc Pouhé. Hamlet’s mother Gertrude is renamed Tedra, played by Yunina Barbour-Payne; Polonius, the advisor to Claudius is an older female in this production: Rabby (played by the young Gina Houston). Ophelia, the daughter of Polonius is here called Opal (Vivian Noble); and Hamlet’s friend Horatio is renamed Tio (Addrian Shontal). Amidst all the seriousness, Tio offers a much-needed touch of hilarity.
The son of Polonius, Laertes, becomes Larry (Nicholas Hunter), and it is his surprising switch from a handsome Marine to a ravishing drag queen that really sets the play on fire. This is where the ribaldry comes to the fore, where sexual matters assume both an amusing and irreverent aspect. The interaction between the two male gay characters, Juicy and Larry, is fraught with lascivious emotion. Unfortunately, the playwright James Ijames explicitly reinforces gay stereotypes by portraying both as pansies who don’t like to hurt anyone, and the concept that repressed men who ‘come out’ become drag queens is a canard. The idea surely cherished by homophobes that all gay men are just ‘wilting violets’ and feminine is damaging and destructive. That Opal is also revealed as a lesbian surely adds another layer of bewilderment for many who must surely wonder why Hamlet became a vehicle for a gay rights play. I am certain many will find it refreshing, while others will just shake their heads.
The ensemble cast acquit themselves brilliantly, and Igbinigie’s rendition of the song Creep (a hit for Radiohead) is a showstopper. Overall, a tremendously fine production which I urge you to see.
A familiarity with the original play by Shakespeare is not required to enjoy the message of this play, which ultimately is an uplifting one of the life-affirming value inherent in those who belong to persecuted minorities. Perhaps the mayor of Taylor should be invited to attend a performance.
Fat Ham is on stage thru June 29, 2025.
For tickets: www.austinplayhouse.com