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Robert Icke's production brings Hamlet into a modern Denmark and was first seen at the Almeida - as I saw it during previews at the Harold Pinter rather than on Press Night, this is not a review as such, but I might just burst at the seams if I don;t get to say how fabulous the night was.
Some modernised productions of Shakespeare do not work, some are good and a very few change the way you understand a play completely, This one falls into the third camp. I have seen many Hamlets on stage, screen and even recently live broadcast but, for me, this particular production, and these individual performances, are the yardstick against which I shall judge all others. Four hours, two intervals and at the end I had tears in my eyes, not for the death of Hamlet but for the life I had seen on stage and for the end of a truly moving experience and one of those times you just didn't want to end! At the first interval my partner just turned to me and said "that was amazing", and it was ...
Andrew Scott's Hamlet is human, flawed, intelligent and surprisingly funny (in a good way!) whilst Juliet Stevenson's Gertrude is utterly credible - love lost at first and tragic in the end. Jessica Brown Findlay gives the best Ophelia I have seen and particularly enjoyed Peter Wight's slightly forgetful but curiously lovable Polonius.
Utterly brilliant theatre ... not a review, just thought you should know!
