Hamlet

There's still time to catch New Shakespeare's theater-in-the-hexagon staging at the Berkeley Art Center, a show of great vigor: It works up a sweat (and some bruises). Director Stanley Spenger and company do a bang-up job of romping around an art gallery without banging anything up -- except themselves. The harder feat, in this tricky venue, is being heard. Wherever you sit, you'll catch someone's backside eventually, and it might mean losing his locutions. But in emphasizing Shakespeare's brilliance with entrances and exits, Spenger really uses the space. He achieves a rich counterpoint of stillness and movement and gives the cast what usually seems like the right amount of business. You'll probably guess which of the performers has the most experience, but you'll also believe they're all enjoying themselves, which goes a long way. One of this play's risks is tricking an audience into accepting a wrong line reading if it sounds musical enough; there are moments of that kind of theatrically correct performance here -- acting instead of listening -- but that's forgivable. Eric Moore, in whose madness there is method, does clean, good-looking work as Hamlet. With something of a pose in his poise, he moves well, and it's no surprise that he choreographed the climactic swordplay, brought off with such panache that you might fear for your own safety.