Tag Archives: Clarence Smith

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Simon Godwin Reviewer: Kelyn Luther Just as many of Hamlet’s lines have now become clichéd, the look of a Hamlet production has also become somewhat clichéd; drably set in a vaguely futuristic police state. However, this vivid RSC production blows the cobwebs off. Hamlet’s youth is emphasised during the opening scene as we watch a glimpse ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Simon Godwin Reviewer: Jo Beggs When we first encounter Paapa Essiedu’s youthful Hamlet, he’s a black-clad teenager who won’t make eye contact with his mother and step-father. Just married, hot on the heels of Old Hamlet’s unexpected death, they’re seeing off the wedding guests, all smiles and back-slapping. Director Simon Godwin and Designer Paul Wills have ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Simon Godwin Reviewer: Fergus Morgan This is Denmark in name alone. Simon Godwin’s Hamlet, with Paapa Essiedu in the title role, relocates the rotten affairs of the Danish state to an unspecified West African court, where Claudius rules Elsinore like a military dictator and tribal symbolism is mixed with junta-like soldiery throughout. The shift is a ...