Before rehearsals began, I wrote this post about my take on Polonius. I'm still taken with those ideas about the character — essentially, that he is emotionally withdrawn, using wordplay and cleverness to keep actual emotional contact at arm's length. However, I developed this take on the character before casting, and the addition of the actor can change the whole equation.
I know some people in the cast are reading this, so let me quickly say this: I am EXTREMELY happy with our Polonius and all the work he's doing. Directors always adjust their ideas to fit the actors and designers; that collaboration is what makes theatre so exciting, and I'm choosing Polonius here as an example of something positive that happens all the time.
There were two guys at the auditions that I seriously considered for Polonius. One of them would have worked perfectly with the somewhat non-traditional ideas that I had about the character — he's a strong actor who takes direction and makes big choices. The other was a natural Polonius — his first cold read of the scene with the King and Queen and the letter was spot-on and laugh-out-loud funny. I ended up casting the first of these two in another role, and the second as Polonius. He's a wonderful actor, delightful to work with and to watch, and his take on Polonius is completely different from how I originally envisioned it.
And that's fine. At the very first rehearsal, I talked to him a bit about my ideas. He was game, but it quickly became clear that those ideas were holding him back instead of turning him loose, and the magic that happened in his audition didn't have room to flow.
That's a crux that every director faces all the time. There are two choices. Either you can push the actor to deliver your ideas, what is sometimes called "building the performance on the actor." This can mean long hours of rehearsal in which the director ends up making the actor's choices and staging everything in minute detail. Sometimes, with a poor casting choice and an important enough idea behind it, this is necessary and is worth the extra time and frustration and ill will it generates in the actor. Usually, though, it's far better for everyone and for the show when the director can let go of the original idea, adjusting her take on the play to fit the actor that has been cast. If the director and the director's vision are flexible enough to allow this, it gives the actors a chance to do their best work, and for the creative juices to keep flowing.
In this particular situation, it was an easy choice. The actor's natural instincts are a much more traditional take on Polonius anyway — a take on the character that has worked in countless productions. And he is a wonderful actor who brings true warmth and charm to Polonius; his blustering is endearing and his death is much more tragic. The next time I direct Hamlet, maybe I'll end up making my original choice. For this production, I'm thrilled to be able to adjust my analysis to fit such a delightful actor.
Blogging The Dane 
June 5, 2006 at 9:55 pm
That’s interesting stuff – I just re-read your original ideas about Polonius and found the Asperger’s idea really fascinating. I work with some kids with Asperger’s on social communication, and the way you describe Polonius is spot-on. These kids are able to learn social graces and apply them appropriately, but they are clearly forced and unnatural. The description of Polonius saying goodbye to Laertes in a forced formal way and blabbering on sounds exactly like what my students would do. The most noticeable thing to me about their communication is that they aren’t able to limit their conversational turns to the appropriate length, and often provide too much detail or go off on barely related tangents. Of course, the decreased desire for and lack of comfort with emotional connections are also distinguishing. The only problem with that interpretation is that some of his beliefs and scheming (as you describe them) require quite a bit of perspective taking, which is often very very difficult for people with Asperger’s. On the other hand, as a clearly intelligent and experienced man, this is something that could be learned.
Of course, it sounds like you aren’t playing him this way so it’s really not that important.