Trailburst Cereal
Andrew’s plans to pursue a trail leading to a career as a serious actor rather than the kind of actor who co-stars with chipmunk puppets and stars in embarrassing TV shows all goes to bust precisely because he is the kind of actor who should be sharing the screen with puppets.
John Buried-Mentor
Although the play tries to make it clear enough, some of the irony of John Barrymore being the historical figure doling out advice on how to steer clear of the dangerous waters of fame and fortune and remain committed to becoming a serious stage actor who performs all the great classical roles may be lost on some members of the audience. The inescapable gut punch of reality is that Barrymore precisely failed to do this very thing. The irony is that the Ghost of John Barrymore may well be the single worst possible spectral mentor any aspiring actor could bring forth from the great beyond.
Despite All This, a Happy Ending
I Hate Hamlet ends on a happy note, despite the fact that Andrew bombed in his performance. This despite the fact that John Barrymore’s Ghost will have to exit back to the afterlife and leave Andrew’s life. This despite the fact the fact that Andrew does not wind up being the one to finally take his 29 year old girlfriend’s virginity after being so patient. This despite the fact that the story is heavily invested in a 400 year old tragedy. Perhaps most importantly, this despite the fact that one of the central characters has come to be viewed as one of the most tragic figures in the history of American acting.
20 Seconds in Heaven
Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play and more than a third of its lines are spoken by just one character, and you can probably guess who that character is. In a production which has not been edited at all, the actor playing Hamlet must memorable more than 1500 lines. That’s a lot of acting! So there is a definitely a certain irony in the fact that Andrew can look back with a degree of satisfaction and fondness for his universally panned performance simply because he nailed the character for 20 seconds out of the play’s entire running time.
"Oh John Barrymore, wherever you are! Bless this evening!"
The entire opening scene of Act Two is an example of simple, old-fashioned dramatic irony in that the audience is aware of information that the characters are not. The irony of this situation reaches a fever pitch when Deirdre calls out to the unseen guardian angel who has been assisting Andrew to prepare for playing Hamlet while completely oblivious to the fact that he has been right there watching and interacting with them the whole time.
