Prince of Players

Hamlet, the most difficult of all of Shakespeare's plays, is being presented in April on four successive nights by the Dartmouth Players. The young man, shown at the right in the 16th century Elizabethan costume of the title role, is David Birney '61 of Cleveland. For Dave, this production will terminate four very active years of college theatre experience. To end this undergraduate career as Hamlet, a role very few are qualified to undertake, is in itself substantial testimony of Birney's ability.

Hamlet is extremely demanding, if only considered in terms of time. The Players' production will be basically uncut, and will run just under four hours in length. Dave, as the complex Prince of Denmark, will have approximately 1500 lines to deliver. Early preparation for the part took the form of an "extremely successful" seminar on Hamlet last term under Professors John Finch and Henry Williams, both Shakespeare specialists in the English Department. The seminar allowed Dave time for the extensive reading and research needed for an adequate understanding of Hamlet, the person. In addition to this study, Professor Williams, who directs the play, has had it in rehearsal for most of the second term. All this preparation, plus Dave's insistence on reading as much beyond the assigned work as he could, has laid a solid foundation for his performance.

Dave, in Henry Williams' words, will make a "damned exciting Hamlet." Perhaps Dave's finest performance to date was in the lead role in John Osborne's Look Back in Anger, the Players' presentation during Houseparties Weekend last fall. Birney, as the angry young man, Jimmy Porter, portrayed this central character with a force and sincerity that literally shocked his audiences. Thanks to Dave, Osborne's message was loud, clear and as harsh as was intended. Indeed, one of the first problems with Hamlet was to make Dave up so as to completely erase the bad boy image of his last part.

Other college roles Dave has undertaken and handled with professional polish include the leads in Guys andDolls, The Skin of Our Teeth, and TheBoy Friend. His first play as a freshman was Hay Fever, which Henry Williams also directed.

Birney is an English major, and has maintained a 4.6 average in his field. His additional extracurricular activities have included membership in SOC, Green Key, Sigma Nu, and Casque and Gauntlet. At high school in Cleveland he was active in student government, glee club, band, drama and athletics.

This energetic senior is uncertain of his future ventures beyond Hamlet and graduation. Many avenues are opening, and all of them look interesting. Next year could mean business, drama school, law school, theatre in Dallas, or even teaching in East Africa.

For the moment this jovial undergraduate is completely engrossed in the play before him. He worries about the four soliloquies, which, at the same time, he enjoys more than any other portions of the play. He speaks of the many considerations - vocal, almost musical, considerations — to be taken into account as he walks the fine line between drama and poetry in the soliloquies. And he questions his audience, and the problems involved in a production so well known. Can he be all things to all people, or the Hamlet that Shakespeare created?

One might go on and on. David Birney is exciting to chat with, intelligent and enthusiastic about his performance. These present tribulations will surely evaporate, and Hamlet will be a solid success. And if luck or "soothsaying" is any part of it, Dave's birthday just happens to be the same as William Shakespeare's.

Dave Birney '61 as Hamlet