The last Hamlet by Vladimir Vysotsky

The article is concerned with the image of Hamlet created by Vladimir Vysotsky in Taganka Theatre’s performance of Hamlet (1871) and the image of Hamlet-Vysotsky in Taganka’s performance of Vladimir Vysotsky (1981). Hamlet has had special significance in Russian culture and Russian theatre, and Hamlet’s theme has become Vysotsky’s personal theme as well. Hamlet played by Vysotsky — wearing sweater and jeans, with his crackling voice recognizable by his contemporaries — took a “one of them” approach, as a representative of public sentiment and the spirit of the epoch. So in a special farewell and commemorative performance of Vladimir Vysotsky, characters and dialogue from Hamlet appeared for a reason. Vysotsky is gone, but his voice is still heard, and this expressive “nonpresence” creates the mysterious atmosphere of the performance. The author of this article analyzes how the performance created the “effect of presence” even as the main character was absent, and why it was more than an effect, but presence itself — constructed; recreated by the sound of his voice and perceived with great emotion and catharsis.