Writer: David Visick
Director: Tim Marriott
Old King Hamlet and his former Court Jester Yorick discuss various topics in the Nowhere, a place that is neither Heaven nor Hell. King Hamlet is unsatisfied with letting his murderer go unpunished, and he insists on returning to the world of the living. Yorick tries his best to discourage him, but the King is determined. They discuss topics ranging from their social class to the King’s inability to see what is occurring around him while alive, to the humorous importance of hats. The range of topics has a nice balance between humour and seriousness, with the actors easily making the audience laugh out loud.
There are a few times where the lines are not delivered as smoothly as expected, but each actor quickly fixes their speech and regains control over the flow of the dialogue. Through their performances, Nicholas Collett and Tim Marriott create a fun and interesting adaptation to show how Yorick and King Hamlet may have acted that fits nicely with the original Shakespeare material.
The Old King and Yorick do not fully feature in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. The King briefly appears as a ghost who warns Hamlet about his uncle’s misdeeds, while Yorick is only mentioned by name when his grave is disinterred to make room for a new burial. This digging up of graves was common in Shakespeare’s time, hence the reason why he put a curse on his own grave to ensure no one removed his body. As such, there is a lot of room for Collett and Marriott to develop their characters.
The staging is simple with only three set pieces that are largely used for sitting. There is a chest, an empty upside-down crate and what looks to be a wooden block. The lighting is simple and largely used to highlight where Hell and Heaven are. There is use of an audio recording. This recording represents the world of the living. The lines said by the audio correspond to the beginning of Hamlet when numerous individuals see King Hamlet’s ghost. This is well done and gives a new perspective on Shakespeare’s play.
This play is advertised as a ‘love letter’ to Shakespeare’s Hamlet, and this is clearly visible. Not only is the writing in the prequel paying homage to the original play, but there are so many fun parallels for the audience to figure out. In addition, Tim Marriott and Nicholas Collett perfectly capture the essence of the original play with their acting.
Runs until 4 April 2026
