As part of the A-Level Literature course, a cohort of staff and students struck out to Stratford-Upon-Avon to watch Shakespeare’s Hamlet live, performed by the RSC. Often considered Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet is a challenging production for any theatre company, with the titular role often considered to be the magnum opus of all male theatre roles. Please enjoy two student reviews of their time in the ‘rotten’ court of Elsinore.
David A (L6th):
Imagine starting out a play, as you have now done for many performances before, having gone through the mental preparation and anxiety required to get into character before a show. Then imagine in Act 1 Scene 3 of the play being told you had to switch keys entirely and play a different person as their understudy. Such was the experience of Lewis Shepherd as Laertes when he was told Hamlet was unable to continue.
The play began as per the norm: enter watchmen followed by different watchmen and Horatio, then enter Ghost. Except there was no ghost. This was one of the few Hamlets to have left an ambiguity around the existence of the Ghost, only putting him on stage twice, and leaving his other appearances on the same level of obscurity as Macbeth’s “dagger of the mind”. We were introduced to Jared Harris’ Claudius soon after, every bit a lecherous ‘satyr’-like interpretation who gave over more time to kissing Gertrude than delivering mourning words for his brother. Not long after, the call came that someone was ill and that an understudy would have to come on; nobody expected that when they announced minutes later who was to be replaced that it would be the main Dane himself. For those who remember the school going to see Macbeth at the Globe a few years ago, you may remember that Macbeth had to be understudied that night too (maybe Taylors’ has a curse on it in relation to Shakespeare). This change, however, did not leave the actors any less sharp on their performances as Lewis Shepherd delivered the lines without script or pause.
The challenge for anyone putting on this play is usually finding a means to make their Hamlet stand out; David Tennant followed the emo teen path where Andrew Scott highlighted the emotional trauma he had experienced. This Hamlet seemed to be characterised by a certain awkwardness in movement, being often constrained then momentarily chaotic, and in voice, in that he spoke as if struggling to find the words to express himself. It seemed that this Hamlet exemplifies the ‘thinker’ in Hamlet’s personality, the man who is never quite sure and always thinks before both speaking and acting.
Though it is always interesting to see and think about the different interpretations of Hamlet, it is not his characterisation that stood out the most in the play but Polonius’. Often played as the bumbling fool or just a mean plotting courtier, we were introduced to Polonius the (slightly drunk) comedian who stole most of the scenes he was in. He made the audience laugh so often that I doubt one person in the audience wasn’t disappointed and sad at his inevitable death.
The other obvious change to the main structure of the play was the setting (being aboard the boat “Elsinore” as opposed to its normal castle counterpart) which was devised by stage designer Es Devlin. The vertically moving deck of the ship served to show the stormy waters into which the boat and the play was sailing and the screen behind it with a background of wide ocean showed the increasingly inescapable entrapment of Hamlet within his own tragedy as the waters darkened.
If you want to see a production of Hamlet which – right from the start – gives a striking awareness of the clock (literally) ticking down towards an inevitable shipwreck (both real and metaphorical) then it would be worth the trip to Stratford upon Avon.
Peter B (5ths):
On Thursday the 20th of March, we embarked on a journey to Stratford-Upon-Avon and the RSC. When we stepped into the theatre, we were greeted by the grim sight of a coffin draped in silk cloth, spotlighted on the stage.
At 7:00pm, the play began and immediately we were plunged into the ship-shape world of a freshly reimagined Hamlet. Every scene was timestamped with a pulsing red clock prominently displayed, which put the play into real time, played out before our very eyes. After only a few scenes of Act 1, the play was abruptly halted. The stage management came out for an unexpected show stop, announcing a cast member had fallen ill backstage and an understudy would need to take over. We sat in anticipation for about 15 minutes before it became apparent that Hamlet himself, Luke Thallon, was to be replaced. This unexpected news was met with an astounding gasp from the audience. Luckily, Lewis Shepherd, who had been playing Laertes, stepped in and made his first ever understudy appearance as Hamlet, with less than 2 weeks left of the show’s current run. The ease with which he transitioned to the complex character that Hamlet entails, was awe inspiring and very impressive to watch; the RSC clearly reminding us of the beauty of live theatre.
Another standout performance was Elliot Levey’s portrayal of Polonius. He brought an enjoyable extra layer of comic relief to the character within all of Shakespeare’s crafted chaos. Nancy Carroll’s Gertrude was a fantastic performance which showed off the fragile relationship between Hamlet and his mother in a new light, blood painting her white dress stark red. My favourite part of the show was the use of the ship to transport the play to the sea; a vision of genius from the director Rupert Goold, brought to life and engineered by set designer Es Devlin. Called by the RSC ‘the raked stage,’ this clever theatrical titanic tipped increasingly as Hamlet became corrupted by his own desire for revenge, edging ever closer to murder and downfall. It further heightened the sense of impending doom that is present within Hamlet, whilst keeping us on the edge of our seats. Quite literally, the play made waves and rocked the boat till there was no one left on board.
I must mention that the vivid use of lighting masterminded by Jack Knowles, added a new level of depth to the grim portrayal of the ghost via a cold and unnerving silhouette. It really evoked the drama of Shakespeare’s Hamlet to the maximum. The full-scale play within a play was a highlight moment which stood out, along with the final scene and the complete capsizing of Hamlet’s Titanic. I greatly enjoyed this play, not just because of the standout acting performances, but the whole atmosphere and feel of this interpretation of Hamlet was so clever and unique, unlike anything that I’ve seen before.
