Tag Archive for 'courtyard theatre'

Who’s Hamlet? David Tennant’s Hamlet

Published
by
Matt
on 29th Jul '08
in Review
. 0 Comments

Director: Gregory Doran
Cast: Oliver Ford Davis, Penny Downie, Mariah Gale, Patrick Stewart and David Tennant
Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Theatre: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

Whilst the RSC’s Hamlet doesn’t offer anything particular new, what it does offer is an emphasis on the humanity of the play. Tennant is a perfect Hamlet, but at 37 is perhaps more OU than a Wittenberg undergraduate. However, as demonstrated regularly in Doctor Who, he has a youthful spirit and is therefore capable of capturing the duality of Hamlet; both his playful madness and introspective philosophising. Crouched at the back of the stage facing away from the audience, Hamlet’s first monologue is delivered beautifully amidst squeaking outbursts of grief. His relationship with Horatio is very convincing and Peter de Jersey’s terrific reactions to Hamlet’s subtle mockery of the other characters serves to solidify the friendship between them.

Oliver Ford Davis delivers a show stealing performance, deftly handling the humour of Polonius by inexorably churning out the character’s idiosyncratic observations. He often, very humorously, grinds to a halt during his more introspective moments and other characters find this necessitates a quick reboot. His scene with Ophelia and Laertes was particularly memorable. Meanwhile, Patrick Stewart understates Claudius and as a result I didn’t feel the sense of a kingly authority over the proceedings. However, rather more intriguingly, I perceived a sense of menace bubbling underneath, which culminated in a final sinister shrug of the shoulders before necking the contents of the poisoned chalice. How Stewart retains such subtly in his performance whilst projecting enough of it to communicate with a whole auditorium is a skill that’s beyond me. Finally, the ensemble, seen most recently in Doran’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, is yet again terrific, delivering some unforgettable supporting performances including a fantastically suggestive dumb show.

This Hamlet is by no means a groundbreaking production, but clearly that wasn’t the intention. What Doran has very successfully achieved is a great Hamlet with a focus on the very human responses each character has to one another and the events that shape the play.

Hamlet can be seen at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until the 15th November 2008 before transferring (from the 3rd December until the 10th January) to the Novello Theatre, London. Tickets for the Stratford shows are completely sold out so either try for returns or expect to pay in excess of £250 for a pair on eBay. Tickets for the London run go on sale on the 12th September. For more information about Hamlet and other productions visit the Royal Shakespeare Company or Novello Theatre websites.

Update: On the BBC’s website there is an overview of the critical response to the ‘Doctor Who Hamlet’ accompanied by their own review of Hamlet and you can see a selection of photos from David Tennant’s performance as Hamlet on the Guardian’s website.

Doran Does A Midsummer Night’s Dream

Published
by
Matt
on 7th Jul '08
in Review
. 0 Comments

Director: Gregory Doran
Cast: Joe Dixon, Kathryn Drysdale, Peter de Jersey and Mark Hadfield
Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Theatre: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

The atmosphere was magical as I entered the auditorium amongst Francis O’Connor’s shimmering bulby firmament and gigantic dangling moon. However, I did not have to rely on the terrific set to feel a sense of magic. Although I did have to do a double take when the fairies brought on the Indian boy - it looked like they’d brought an actual toddler on stage!

Magic infects the guts of this gorgeous production of Shakespeare’s most performed comedy. Doran focuses upon the rich and varied language of the play as his starting point and the resulting effect is that magic infuses through every aspect of the show. The quintet of lovers were headed up by Kathryn Drysdale with only a touch of the Two Pints of Lager about her (it was only after checking the programme that I was certain she was who I thought she was) and Tom Davey’s hilarious Lysander who had me laughing embarrassingly loudly, I won’t spoil the gags though.

The actors playing the lovers’ mastery of the language released a subtle chime of expression which permeated through the senses; easily avoiding the monotony of clunking rhyme which can often befoul speakers of this type of verse. The fairies’ language slipped between charms and discourse as though the actors were changing gears on a smooth road, whilst further embellishment, almost surplus to requirement, was provided by Paul Englishby’s deliciously opulent score. The mechanicals were incredibly funny, Joe Dixon’s Bottom delivered a particularly superb performance, and their ‘play within a play’ re-energised an audience that were naturally beginning to flag once the lover’s ménage à quatre was resolved. During the final scene, as was common throughout the show, the language was manipulated for laughs, yet space was left for the gags that are found naturally in the text. A production that honoured yet refreshed the play with deeply magical results.

A Midsummer Night’s Dream can be seen at The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon until the 13th November 2008. For more information about this and other productions visit the Royal Shakespeare Company website.