The perilous voyages of a bourgeois gentlemen to the theatre and the cinema.
The RSC is like a theatre on steroids, in fact it is the only such establishment in which I have found a bewildering hall of mirrors and a restaurant that serves divine lamb and delicious mushrooms with feta cheese. But once they'd gone to all this trouble with the theatre, I regret to say the advertising of Hamlet left a little to be desired. The poster was simply a fencing helmet. I want portraits of renowned actors who look like they're engaged in existential puzzles, not a bloody fencing helmet!

The set for this latest take on Shakespeare's most famous play was a curious mix of a school gym and a Bavaria hunting lodge, with a dramatic roof stretching overhead which created a sense of claustrophobia. It was all pleasingly rustic, with the central stage surrounded by filth and skulls embedded in the dirt (I felt it represented the death and decay at the heart of the play and all our lives, my theatrical companion was less sure). Lighting was used to striking effect, we were plunged into neon darkness at each appearance of Dead Hamlet and the lighting for the rest of the play perfectly matched the tone of that particular scene.
It turned out the minimalistic poster was set to reflect a minimalist take on Hamlet. Following David Tennant's renowned take on the Prince of Denmark, which played out like a slick version of Nineteen Eighty-Four, David Farr had chosen to take the play back to basics. Taking inspiration from the line "O that this too too solid flesh would melt", the creative team had chosen to portray Hamlet as suffering from depression from the start, making the play a savage attack against the modern stigma of depression. Although I admired the fresh take, the central mystery of Hamlet is whether he's really mad or simply putting on "an antic disposition". He was clearly bonkers in this one, Jonathon Slinger coupled moments of delirious madness with sober contemplation of "self slaughter".

The effect of removing the majority of the glitz and glamour means that you can almost envisage the play taking place in a much colder Middle East, especially with the added emphasis on the multiple disturbances and attempted coups. Strangely they cut Fortinbras again, which is a shame as now three and a half hours of play tails of with Horatio getting soaked (don't ask) instead of the nice summing up Shakespeare had in mind.
Stand out performances came from Robin Soans's Polonius and Pippa Nixon's Ophelia, two characters which are usually portrayed as a blithering idiot and an annoying subplot respectively. Greg Hicks's isn't bad as Claudius either. He's certainly mastered a thin smarmy political veneer and makes an excellent ghost, but when he finally gets round to confessing his crime it falls a little flat.
So, I had survived the perils of Stoke-on-Trent, whilst finding time to appreciate the works of Shakespeare and Danny Boyle. But how will this posh twit fare on further cultural exploits? Will the Disgruntled Proletariat Sniper finally get his revenge on the bourgeoisie? Find out in Part II.....
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