Tag Archives: Hamlet

Adaptation and Original Direction: Lewis Ironside Directed by: Stacey Norris Reviewer: Christie-Luke Jones Sh!t-faced Shakespeare: Hamletis Magnificent Bastard Productions’ booze-fuelled and delightfully sweary take on Shakespeare’s tale of royal revenge in the Danish court. The concept is a simple one – a cast of professionally trained, Shakespearian actors rattle their way through a potted 70-minute adaptation of The Bard’s classic ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Daniel Winder Reviewer: Maryam Philpott A promenade Hamlet is an interesting proposition for a tightly wound play that takes place almost entirely within the walls of a palace. Iris Theatre’s big summer production strives for contemporary relevance in Shakespeare’s most fascinating work, opening out the action into the beautiful floral garden of St Paul’s Churchyard in Covent ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Director: Amy Leach Reviewer: Jay Nuttall The play is the thing in Amy Leach’s solid production of Hamlet, as Leeds Playhouse’s ensemble season continues in their pop-up space while the theatre continues redevelopment. This radically cut-down, easily digestible version of Shakespeare’s masterpiece places story first and foremost and injects a pace that can very often be the ...

Writer: William Shakespeare  Director: Yaël Farber  Reviewer: Ciara L. Murphy “Now might I do it”. The closing quotation of Yaël Farber’s director’s note signals a willingness to try. To try to bring new meaning to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. A Hamlet for our times, perhaps. However, this contemporary production raises one question for this reviewer: why? Alas, this question remains unanswered. It is clear ...

Writer: William Shakespeare Directors: Federay Holmes and Elle White Reviewer: Scott Matthewman With a new artistic director at the helm who clearly believes in placing the actors at the heart of each production’s creative decisions, it is perhaps inevitable that Michelle Terry should cast herself in the title role of Hamlet. Performed in repertory with As You Like It, the ...

Writer: William Shakespeare  Director: David Thacker Reviewer: Jay Nuttall Brevity may be the soul of wit but brevity was certainly not on William Shakespeare’s agenda when he wrote the Danish classic. It is easy not to appreciate, when seeing a production every few years, the mammoth task a director, lead actor and whole company undertake when committing to stage the ...

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 ...