Tim Mooney brought a one-man performance, Breakneck Hamlet, to the Rogue Festival that entertained, educated, and established Mooney as a stalwart Bard actor. Taking the five acts of Hamlet and stripping them down to an elevated SparkNotes-esque script by summarizing and choosing the vital monologues, Mooney performed all the major roles at breakneck speed (hence the title) making his rendition one for the fringe festival ages.
Mooney’s stellar commitment and fluid pacing was exhausting but pleasing to watch. This is not a show one should see if they don’t know anything about the Hamlet plot, though. Mooney’s ability to transcend from narrator to actor is so crisp that if one doesn’t have at least a decent familiarity with one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, they may be a little lost. Mooney’s lighting design at the Fresno Soap Co. was extremely effective, helping him switch in scene/act/room changes throughout the 45-minute marathon. Mooney’s astute dialects and wide range of vocal inflections helped him transform into each character with ease and constant consistency. This was a one-man Hamlet done right!
