Hamlet - Review

National Theatre, London

****

Written by William Shakespeare

Directed by Robert Hastie

Hiran Abeysekera

Robert Hastie’s take on Hamlet is an exciting night at the theatre. Set on Ben Stones’s bold palatial staging that makes full use of the Lyttleton Theatre’s towering flys, Hastie mines the humour in this most famous of Shakespeare’s tragedies, making the narrative refreshingly accessible while staying true (for the most part) to the original text.

Hiran Abeysekera plays the Prince of Denmark, with a delivery that’s confident and wisely nuanced. At times perhaps his speech is too fast with moments of the verse’s beauty sometimes garbled. But Abeysekera’s authenticity shines through and he can be rightly proud of his impish energetic Hamlet. The final act’s fencing bout (brilliantly fight designed by Kate Waters) against Tom Glenister’s Laertes is exhausting to watch - so heaven knows what a physical challenge it must be to Abeysekera. Great theatre though, with Hastie splashing lashings of stage blood whenever the story gets gory.

Francesca Mills as Ophelia is enchanting. At first a provocative coquette, her descent into madness makes for harrowing drama and genuine pathos. Alistair Petrie as Claudius brings a patrician wickedness to the role and if Hastie has made the role of one of the Bard’s most brutal baddies slightly too melodramatic, it only adds to the evening's murderous mayhem. Other class acts in the company include Geoffrey Streatfield’s prattling Polonius (who is also gifted a hilariously bloody demise in the Closet scene) and Ryan Ellsworth who takes on the honours of the Ghost, Player King and First Gravedigger magnificently. If there is one scene where Hastie’s editing has been too severe, it is in the cutting of the Ghost’s brief speech in the Closet scene. Those six lines add a particular heft to the narrative.

Richard Taylor’s music adds to the occasion, as Hastie’s Hamlet offers up a noble stab at this massive tale. An evening of classy classic drama that will be enjoyed by both Shakespearean cognoscenti and novices alike.

Runs until 22nd November

Photo credit: Sam Taylor

The Duchess of Malfi - Review

Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, London

****

Written by John Webster

Directed by Rachel Bagshaw

Francesca Mills

John Webster’s classic revenge tale is well told in the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse.

Francesca Mills plays the titular widowed Duchess whose death is sought by her patrician brothers following her live affair and subsequent secret marriage to aristocrat Antonio, with whom she has borne three children.

Mills puts in a fine performance with a credible passion and desire for Olivier Huband’s Antonio. The villains of the piece are Jamie Ballard and Oliver Johnstone as the brothers, together with Arthur Hughes’ Bosola, the story’s duplicitous lynchpin, engineering much of the murderous mayhem before himself succumbing to fatal pangs of guilt.

Director Rachel Bagshaw plays a little fast and loose with the text, but mercifully her re-writes are sparse and for those school parties attending there is enough meat in the production for them to context Webster’s prose. To her credit, Bagshaw places much emphasis on the misogyny of the play which sits even more appropriately in the #MeToo era.

The music is well played and provides a sound backdrop to the narrative, while the entertaining fight choreography from R C Annie Ltd offers the violent thrills and spills that this famous blood and bodice-ripping yarn demands.

At nigh-on 3 hours there are moments when the pace flags, but for a decent delivery of Restoration Tragedy, The Duchess Of Malfi hits the spot.

Runs until 14th April

Photo credit: Marc Brenner