The story of Shakespeare’s Danish prince has been told and retold for over four hundred years. But what if you realized that the events of your life were eerily similar to those of Hamlet? Juicy’s revelation happens at the barbecue being held for his mother and uncle’s wedding, and the similarities don’t stop there. Written by James Ljames and directed by Philip Akin, Fat Ham is a queer, modern, yet totally self-aware take on the Bard. With a stellar cast and the smell of barbecued food wafting through the air, Fat Ham is absolutely delicious. 

Seriously though, don’t come to Fat Ham hungry; Cherry Street Bar-B-Que provides the food that’s eaten during each performance and I could smell it through my mask before the play even began. The sweet smoky smell of meat that’s been cooked for hours over charcoal and wood…there’s nothing quite like it, is there? Not to mention all of the sides that go along with it: potato salads, cornbread, all the good stuff. It makes my mouth water just thinking about it all again. Maybe make plans to head there before or after the show and enjoy some of their delicious food for yourself!

Juicy’s father, Pap, has been murdered in prison. Distraught by the events, he’s still wearing his mourning blacks when his mother Tedra marries Pap’s brother Rev. Sounding familiar? It does to Juicy, too. A little too familiar: there are ghosts seeking revenge, childhood friends who are in love, and Horatio waxes poetical as he should (though this particular monologue is way more adult than anything uttered by his Shakespearean counterpart). However, Ljames has worked in twists and turns to ensure that Fat Ham ends far more satisfactorily than Shakespeare’s tragedy. 

Brandon Kleiman’s set design immediately takes us to the backyard of a small suburban house in the summer time: the turf on the floor, small trampoline, 70’s style metal lawn chairs, and streamers cascading from the ceiling immediately alert the audience to the impending backyard shindig. Andre du Toit’s lighting design, particularly for the asides of the show, is perfect, creating and breaking the divide between action and audience as necessary. As always, Ming Wong’s costume designs perfectly suit their wearers, indicating all we need to know about each one.

Peter Fernandes stars as Juicy and delivers a funny, heartfelt, and passionate performance. His command of the text and of the stage is unmistakable, you never want to take your eyes off of him. David Alan Anderson plays both Rev and Pop, a convention often seen in stagings of Hamlet which I was happy to see replicated here. Anderson is fearsome as both characters, making them formidable opponents for Juicy. Raven Dauda is a compassionate and kind Tedra; she loves her soft boy Juicy and the little dance they do together during Karaoke is adorable. Dauda gives dimensions to this character which I hadn’t considered before, and she does it all with her own unique flare. Virgilia Griffith shines as Opal; her determination and frustration over not feeling heard is acutely felt throughout the play. Tony Ofori gives an unforgettably funny performance as Tio; the stoner best friend is such a classic comedy convention and he plays it perfectly. Nehassaiu deGannes’ Rabby is as funny as she is pious, and deGannes gives her a sweet and spicy edge which totally fits within the play. Tawiah M’Carthy gives a standout performance as Larry. His genteel nature is brought to the fore in this role, and his scenes with Fernandes send sparks flying through the room.

The self-awareness of Fat Ham makes it a delight to watch; you certainly don’t have to be intimately familiar with Hamlet to pick up on the references in Fat Ham. Not only is Juicy the only one to directly address the audience, his moments of direct address are acknowledged by the other characters and he’s asked to relay messages to the audience, as if they can’t speak to the audience themselves. Once Juicy fully realizes that the events are playing out exactly like Hamlet, suddenly his asides are purely Hamlets, using the “the play’s the thing” and “oh, what a piece of work is man” monologues. While “the play’s the thing” is essentially used in the same manner as the Bard’s, “what a piece of work” is used as a statement of love after Juicy has a spicy encounter with Larry. And the final scene is made all the more funny as Juicy points out how things are supposed to end. 

Ljames’ play also highlights the suppressed queerness of Shakespeare’s text, allowing space for these ideas to play out. Juicy is consistently defined as “soft” by those around him; it both plays on his thoughtfulness as the Hamlet figure while also implying that they all know that Juicy’s gay. It’s the revelations from Opal and especially Larry which make Fat Ham all the more intriguing. The heartbreak in the play comes from a very different place: not one of a relationship lost but of broken trust between friends and potential lovers. Details in the costuming like Juicy’s hanky or Opal’s Doc Martens reinforce the feelings of their characters. However, nothing is quite as good as Larry’s glorious reveal at the ending of the play.

Everything about Fat Ham makes perfect and delightful sense to me; from Juicy’s karaoke song choice to how Rev dies, it all fits into this unique modern take on Shakespeare’s classic. Fat Ham revels not only in its similarities to its theatrical namesake, but in the ways it boldly smashes through those conventions and makes something entirely new. As a fan of the Bard, and of barbecue, Fat Ham had me tickled pink and very very hungry.

Fat Ham runs at the Berkeley Street Theatre until March 16. For more information and tickets, visit: https://www.canadianstage.com/shows-events/season/fat-ham

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Cover photo: The Cast of Fat Ham. Photo by Dahlia Katz.

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