I recently drove to Galway to see the NT live
broadcast of Hamlet from the Barbican
Theatre. It is an hour and half trip,
each way. Do I think it was worth
it? Wait and see.
Directed by
Lyndsey Turner this was, of course, the
much anticipated Benedict Cumberbatch debut in the role – and I will come to
him later. Later, because any performance of this role is shaped by choices
made by the Producer, Director, Designer and many others. They create the context in which we see
Hamlet’s tragedy enacted.
I do not know what
influence of the Producer, Sonia Friedman, was, apart from recruiting the
Director and other main players. But I do know that the Designer, Es
Devlin has a long and worthy track record setting plays, operas, ballet and and
music concerts. This is her second
consecutive production with Lyndsey Turner.
Previously she has been employed by The Royal Shakespeare Company, The
Royal Court, The National Theatre and the Theatre de Complicite, and many of
the world’s leading theatres, opera houses and musicians. She has designed eight previous Shakespeare
productions, including another Hamlet, and worked with U2, Kanye West, PetShopBoys,
Lenny Kravitz, Lady Gaga, Goldfrapp, Jamie Cullum and Nitin Sawney among
others. I
mention this CV to illustrate her versatility and reputation, and because I
think her set is one of the stars of the show. The Barbican has a huge stage and her
design is reminiscent of that used for
Kenneth Branagh’s 1996 film, but this set is turned slightly slant wise and she
shows both Elsinor’s initial grandeur and then the gradual decay of the State
of Denmark, and maybe of Hamlet’s state of mind. I give top marks to Es Devlin and to the
Lighting Director, Jane Cox, who exploits the set’s depth and shadows. Controversially, Hamlet’s soliloquies are
spot lit in front of a freeze frame of slow-mo background action. I liked this. Soliliques are difficult to stage, and
moving them out of time is an interesting solution. I thought the music was usually appropriate
too, even if at times it almost drowned the words.
Talking of words, the script was cut to 3 hours instead
of the full 4 hour text. So was the
recent Sarah Frankcom/Maxime Peake production for the Manchester
International Festival, and I had no problem with
that. It is good to have the full text
at times (all praise to Branagh for his full four hour filmed version) but I
did not miss anything here. Some of the words were transposed,
particularly in the opening scene, where Hamlet greets Horatio with ‘Who goes there?’ and much of the rest of
Marcello and Bernardo’s conversation is cut or transposed. We were told that in
the previews the play started with Hamlet’s ‘to be or not to be’, but now we start with the grieving son sorting
through his father’s possessions and listening to Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy. This production had been criticized in The
Times as "Hamlet for kids raised on
Moulin Rouge". Apart from this
song being used in the Baz Luhrmann movie of Moulin Rouge (sung by David Bowie) I cannot see the point. Did
this tune subconsciously make the connection? Anyway, I think it is good to start with
Hamlet.
The Direction delivers the text clearly, coordinating the creative ideas of the crew, moving
us along apace, using the space, hits
many of the emotional high and low notes, missing a few, works within the
capacity of the actors, gives the lead
players room to explore and does not ignore the supporting roles. All of these are important for a Director to
manage. I think Lyndsey Turner had done well
enough.
So what about the acting?
The play is set in the mid 20th century, judging from the weapons used, but Horatio,
played by Leo Bill, is presented as a late
20th century student, complete
with self-inked tattoos and a back-pack. Horatio
being an academic fits the text, and Bill plays his part well. I could not quite see why he would be
Hamlet’s bosom pal, but at least he is loyal and bright, unlike the deadly duo
of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, who are treacherous dullards. I love Tom Stoppard’s play centering on
them, and seeing it on the page, stage and screen has obviously engendered an
affection for them in my heart, but here – quite rightly - their off-stage death is no tragedy.
Nor, sadly was Ophelia’s. Sian Brooke
has worked with the RSC, and certainly
knows how to speak Shakespeare, but neither I nor my companion could see why or
how she might have captured Hamlet’s heart.
Pretty, but rather round shouldered (in the way Princess Diana was) she had little sparkle, and therefor when her
spark was extinguished we did not miss a lot.
Her final exit was given the works by the Director, using timing, lighting and swelling music to
move us, but we not moved. Her early business with a camera was
designed to provide an emotional pay-off later,
but again we felt short changed.
I once saw Robert Laplace’s one-man Hamlet. (Yes, One
Man Hamlet). I expected it to be
interesting. I did not expect to be
profoundly moved by his portrayal of the multiple roles, but the death of his Ophelia
moved me to tears. There were early murmurs
that Jessica Chastain would play the part.
Be still my beating heart.
Her brother Laertes is played by Kobna Holdbrook-Smith
with vigour and clarity, and their father, old Polonius, by Jim Norton who is a well known actor in Ireland, but most English eyes are more likely to
recognize him as Bishop Brennan in Father Ted. He certainly does a workmanlike job here,
but nothing distinguishes his performance, nor that of Anastasia Halle as
Gertrude. I confess that seeing the magnificent Janet Suzmann
play this part opposite Derek Jacobi’s Hamlet (yes, it was that long ago) set a high bar.
Ruairi Conaghan, another Irish actor, is the Player
King, always a difficult part to play, as he is such a bad actor. (Hamlet’s coaching him for his performance
at the Court is very funny). The Player
Queen role goes to (yet) another Irish actor, Diveen Henry, who impressed us
with her brief moment in the limelight.
Karl Johnson is the Ghost and Gravedigger. I loved his work in Mike Leigh’s Mister Turner, playing another
father. Here I thought his vocal delivery
as Hamlet Snr. was rather strange, but he did provide the necessary comic
relief as the gravedigger.
Ciaran Hinds, however, really impressed. He filled out the role of Claudius well, his flashing eyes, resonant tones and
physical presence made him a worthy adversary for Hamlet.
And what of Hamlet?
Of course I loved Cumberbatch’s Sherlock, and admire the whiplash mind that he
had to have in order to play that part convincingly. I was very impressed by his physicality and
grace as Frankenstein’s creature in the 2011 NT/Danny Boyle production. The
Imitation Game showed another aspect of his talents; vulnerability. So I
know he is smart and fast, funny and physical.
(Early on, in the banquet scene, he lightly leaps onto the table without
a break in his stride. In fact it is not
a leap; he simply steps up with no discernable effort.) Here
I saw a burning intelligent intensity, an absolute understanding of who Hamlet
is, even when Hamlet himself does not know who – or what – he is. Every
word seems to have been thought through,
‘read, marked, learnt and inwardly
digested’. He carried me with him
through all his character’s changes, moods, confusions, fears, jokes and rages. It
has been lamented by some that Cumberbatch does not have a more stellar
supporting cast. I can see the point,
but on the plus side I heard every word, which is rather important, nobody walked into the set or into another
actor (and there was a slot of rapid hustle-bustle for time to time), and apart from Ophelia I didn’t feel that
anyone was miscast - or mis-directed.
There is no one perfect reading of the role, or of the play.
There is no agreed ‘best text.’ It is like a diamond held up to the light,
revealing new facets with every slight change in perspective. That is why it is so fascinating. Perhaps the most we can expect from any one
production is clarity, to hear every word, and to let the play itself shine. That
said, I have not seen a better performance
of Hamlet on stage or screen.
