Tag Archive for 'hamlet'

Two Not So Star-crossed Lovers

Published
by
Matt
on 4th Dec '08
in Review
. 0 Comments

Director: Neil Bartlett
Cast: James Clyde, David Dawson, Julie Legrand, Anneika Rose and Gyuri Sarossy
Company: Royal Shakespeare Company
Theatre: The Courtyard Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon

I left the RSC disappointed with Neil Bartlett’s touring production of Romeo and Juliet.  I agree with the Australian girl behind me I overheard saying “It won’t be too long before I see another Shakespeare done like the Godfather.” However, for me the worst of it was that despite its striking style and elegant touches it never struck home emotionally.

The play starts impressively with the entire cast assembled onstage for a rousing Capulate verses Montigue faceoff.  This time flick-knifes spar to the throb of an onstage band and when Romeo eventually makes his first appearance things are looking promising.  He stews over Rosalind, he emotes and he’s a bit of a mess really, but sadly that’s about as far as things get and the next three hours are rather a let down.

An emotional connection fails to materialise between both Romeo and Mercutio and Romeo and Juliet. This resulted in my favourite part of the play, Mercutios death, being an utter anti-climax and the second half of the play, which lets face it can easily become very boring, became very boring.  I would have thought had the actors not managed to find a connection through rehearsals they could have at least popped out for a few drinks together to try and muster some sort of relationship.  Anneika Rose as Juliet was a replacement actress drafted in on short notice, but surely some form of connection should have occurred over the course of touring?

In the production’s defence I assume that directorially the idea was to go for realism rather than theatrics, which may work in a studio theatre, but in a theatre like the Courtyard you have to be able to pull off something particularly special (see Patrick Stewart in Hamlet).  In Romeo and Juliet Owain Arthur stole the show by transforming Peter, a pretty insignificant character, into a lovely morsel of comic relief by playing him theatrically.  Sadly, the majority of the characters appeared devoid of humour and Nurse, who has the best lines, never once managed to squeeze a laugh out of the audience.

The production does have redeeming features.  Neil Bartlett’s direction is masterful in many respects.  The transitions between scenes are comprised of brilliant lighting arrangements and a lovely click of the fingers motif often followed by the odd soliloquy under a spot.  It’s a perfect example of minimalist theatre at its best.  The use of space by all of the actors is excellent and they move brilliantly around the stage and David Dawson is a potential future star.  Not only does he look great, but his voice is beautiful and remember that even David Tennant’s Hamlet lacked the emotional depth that I crave from theatre.  Just because he has one particular tool missing from his box doesn’t mean that he’s not a terrific actor.

Finally, I’ll leave you with the parting words of the Australian girl.  They sum up this production quite well: “By the end I just didn’t care that they were dead” and neither did I.

Who’s Hamlet? David Tennant’s Hamlet

Published
by
Matt
on 29th Jul '08
in Review
. 1 Comment

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.