Skip to main content

Review of Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

I am personally all about making Shakespeare accessible, I take the Emma Rice line, that many were not keen on, that after a few hundred years, it's perhaps worthy of mixing it up a bit to make it more meaningful to a modern audience. I have a feeling the man himself would have no qualms about seeing his classic Hamlet transposed into a garish multi-coloured world, set in a much more hip place.

The Denmark that we see here and that is still referenced, is now very much an African country, and not just because of the heavy black actor casting, this is all about a style and a carnival feeling to many of the scenes. Music is provided by tribal-like drums, and characters stalk the scenes carrying handguns and rifles, bringing a modern feeling to the conflict as well. This is certainly not the "rotten state of Denmark" that most Shakespeare aficionados are familiar with.

Characters are changed drastically as we have more cocksure, swaggering, modern feeling to the individuals, especially Hamlet himself, who weaves between an uncontrollable beast bent on revenge, to a kid who still hasn't grown-up. Imagine Harry Enfield's Kevin playing Hamlet, and you will get a feeling of how childish this Hamlet is. Well, perhaps don't, but I am sure you get the idea.

 Paapa Essiedu (Hamlet)
There is no question that Paapa Essiedu, here playing Hamlet, is an actor of exceptional skill. He has the audience in his grip from his first appearance, and in his first scene, able to project a gushing flow of tears as he imparts his first, of many, soliloquies, "O, that this too too solid flesh would melt". The emotion within this is epic and lays the path for his entire performance. His range though is extraordinary, this character has such a sweeping diversity, yes, in this Hamlet, we have the kid who ain't "bovvered", the son bent on revenge as his state of mind breaks slowly down, and then we have a jovial one, pulling comedy where it almost shouldn't be, in this darkest of plays. We laugh as he drags the body of Polonius away when we shouldn't and we find light relief in the Yorick speech, due to the buoyant feel it is given, the lines delivered as a joyful memory, as opposed to the sadness of times past. This Hamlet is also a chilling (in the cool sense) Banksy character as well, willing to mock his elders, with graffiti upon official drapes and men and ladies toilet signs upon the thrones, of the court variety, not the cubicle kind. An extra little mocking one of a pensioner as well to adorn Polonius. This Hamlet is one cool kid, that's for sure.

Mimi Ndiweni (Ophelia) and Paapa Essiedu (Hamlet)
While Essiedu is the incredible structure where all of Hamlet resides, he is surrounded by an equally impressive cast. Mimi Ndiweni gives a gutwrenching performance as Ophelia, taking the emotion and break down to create the sorrow of this play away from Hamlet himself. This is where the Hamlet of old lies and Ndiweni is impressive. More humour comes in the hands of Polonius, and his time of brevity. It's an extremely entertaining performance from Joseph Mydell.

Elsewhere, we journey with James Cooney's Horatio in a buoyant manner until the bitter end, where his collapse is complete as he cradles his bestie in his arms as Fortinbras arrives. This once and always lively, sprightly character, is given eminent depth by Cooney at the dying embers of the play.

Director Simon Godwin brings vibrancy to scenes which shouldn't have them, making this Shakespeare all the more stirring and relevant. Upon Paul Wills striking set, epic pillars and sliding sections, and to the background of swift scene changes and accompanied by striking music, some brilliant realised live by the drums and an assortment of other instruments, this is a captivating show, even if you are a very casual Shakespeare.

This Hamlet is for the modern generation, a broad-stroke production that might often not please the old guard. However, there is always room for everything within the world of Shakespeare, traditional will never go, and neither should this freedom to experiment. Paapa Essiedu's Hamlet is exceptional, and that alone is one very good reason that this RSC production should be put in your diary.


Vibrant and entertaining modernisation, with an incredible performance from Paapa Essiedu.
½

Performance reviewed: Wednesday 28th February 2018 at the Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton.
Hamlet runs at the Royal & Derngate until Saturday 3rd March 2018 before continuing its tour to Hackney, and erm, Washington D.C

For further details about the Royal & Derngate see their website at royalandderngate.co.uk


Photos: Manuel Harlan. Copyright RSC

Popular posts from this blog

Review of Lord Of The Dance at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The stage show Lord of the Dance possibly needs little introduction to most people, as it has become a legend and now, in this touring version, subtitled rather immodestly, 25 Years of Standing Ovations, it reaches a landmark anniversary. Those that do not know of the show would probably well know its spiritual fathers Michael Flatley, and even more likely Riverdance , from which Lord of the Dance sprung with a proper spring in its step. During the interval of the 1994 Eurovision Song Contest, Riverdance hit the world by storm as Michael Flatley and his troop of dancers possibly presented the most famous part of Eurovision ever, certainly of the non-singing variety at least. Here, this touring show brings that same style Flatley created from traditional Irish dancing across the country once again and it is truly something special to see. The concept of the show is simply a battle between good and evil told through dance, and some captivating and stunning songs performed by Celyn Cartw...

Review of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat at Milton Keynes Theatre

There have been numerous productions of Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's groundbreaking musical since it first appeared in 1968 and opened in the West End in 1973. One might wonder if there is still room for another tour. However, judging by the packed audience in Milton Keynes Theatre for the opening night of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , much interest remains for this show. Also, with this production first seen at The London Palladium in June 2019, and with a few production elements altered, Joseph still has, after all those years, the room to change and evolve. However, the question is, does this change help or hinder the show's history? For those unfamiliar with Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, it tells the story of Joseph, Jacob's favourite son, in a lighthearted and musical style that jumps between various genres. Joseph's brothers are somewhat envious of him, leading to them selling him into slavery to an Egyptian nobleman. As for ...

Review of Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby at Royal & Derngate (Derngate), Northampton

The Rambert Dance Company is the oldest such company in Britain having first performed in 1926. However, despite this, this was my first encounter with the group in my ten years of theatre-going. Coupled with this, it was also my first encounter with Peaky Blinders , having never seen the show, and only knowing a few vague things about it. My companion for the evening however was very familiar with the show, allowing some background behind the show. It turns out though,  Rambert Dance in Peaky Blinders - The Redemption of Thomas Shelby needs a little more than a good bit of knowledge of the show, as despite this production having incredible style, there struggles to be a cohesive structure to the show and the storytelling. Much more than other dance shows as well. The first act does a whistle-stop tour of the first five seasons and while it is a feast on the eye, and on the ear, it gets extremely confusing at times. The second act is freestyle and drifts away from the stories tol...