Reader Reviews
Hamlet (Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-Upon-Avon)
Back to Show Details| Score | Comment | Date |
 | Excellent production, blissfully free of the 20th century phsychological mumbo jumbo and concentrating on the catholic/protestant world views as the source of Hamlet's confusion and agnst. This is facilitated by Greg Hicks's sensationally haunting ghost. Stephens's Hamlet is a triumph of pace, passion and timing. Cordery's Polonius is also a more dangerous figure - though still giving plenty of much needed humour - than usual while the rest of the cast are uniformally strong. This is one of the very best Hamlets that I can remember seeing. Definitely a "must see" production. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.252.0.10) | 13 Sep 04 |
| This was a fairly enjoyable version. Toby Stephens obviously loved playing the part which is always good to see. He did milk the lines for all they were was worth comedy wise but this made it easier to concentrate on the more serious aspects without being bored. However, it felt as though Stephens really wanted you to like him the actor rather than Hamlet the character - it could have been Hamlet, Romeo, Macbeth etc but you get the feeling he would have probably still played it for laughs whatever the case. Of course he is a good actor but Hamlets inner torture didn't really come out and you couldn't quite understand why the characters around him were acting as if he was a serious threat when all he seemed to be doing was being a bit cheeky (!) I didn’t like the way Ophelia was portrayed, it was different but perhaps tried a little too hard to be different. In the end she just came off as a bit non descript and there hardly any sexual tension between Ophelia and Hamlet so you didn’t get a good idea of what there relationship was or could have been. Even so, the production overall is quite light hearted in it’s approach and didn’t particularly drag at any point- Stephens kept the audience amused while some smaller characters also entertained well. However, they did take a quite traditional approach, which some people might not like. Worth a look if you have time and a spare £40 but not a must see. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.122.164.224) | 08 Sep 04 |
| Good but certainly not great. Toby Stephens Hamlet was too theatrical making the character appear shallow and unsympathetic. The final scene left you feeling flat. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.23.116.11) | 07 Sep 04 |
| I am amazed by the sheer diversity of reactions this play received. I know that the critics relish any opportunity to analyse, praise or scorn a new producion of Hamlet. And I am fully aware of the satisfaction some might get for passing their own original, sometimes controvertial judgements on the actors' performances. But I, speaking with the neautrality of a seventeen year old student, must for the good of the future of theatre, condemn the critics whith negative things to say about the overall production and Toby Stephans' performance. You aren't critics, just cynics. I speak from the heart when I say sincerely that it was an extremely enjoyable and memorable experience, with Stephans giving a superb enterpretation of the script, timing his lines to perfection, and the character of Hamlet lived through a charismatic stage presence unique to the actor. Some people remarked that it was overmilked for humour. That's probably because they have never seen the jokes between the lines which shakespeare himslef intended. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.255.64.8) | 04 Sep 04 |
| Not a patch on the OLd Vic Hamlet (either Al Weaver or Ben Whishaw)...yes I saw that twice. Toby Stevens was too theatrical and too fast. There was no evidence of thought either before or within his speeches. He was very pretty though. I liked the Ophelia but can never see that Sian Thomas does anything with a role (her Lady Macbeth was dead too). - USER: Whatsonstage.com (193.118.206.221) | 09 Aug 04 |
| I loved Toby Stephens' beautifully spoken and self-consciously theatrical Hamlet - this is a young man who really is steeped in the theatre and well-qualified to give advice to a professional acting company! The only weak link in the cast is Meg Fraser's down-to-earth Ophelia; I half expected her to tell Hamlet to pull himself together and stop being so damned silly... - USER: Whatsonstage.com (195.92.168.169) | 05 Aug 04 |
| This is the best production of the play I have ever seen. Its a thriller, and completely exciting from start to finish. Even though you know what's going to happen, Boyd's direction is so exciting that the whole theatre was absolutely on the edge of their seats at the end. Amazing. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (213.122.200.70) | 22 Jul 04 |
| The strength of this production, at least in preview, lies with three towering performances from Greg Hicks (a truly haunting Ghost of old Hamlet, player king and a nicely comic gravedigger), Toby Stephens (Hamlet) and Richard Cordery (Polonius) with some strong support notably from Clive Wood's Claudius and Sian Thomas's Gertrude. Stephens has the experience to fully portray this complex character, but with the youthful appearance to portray his age as well to give a memorable performance while Cordery gets full pomposity and humour out of Polonius. The staging is simple but effective, with greater use of the auditorium than is traditional on the main stage, which works well to draw the audience in - while the set is full of hidden windows giving the "walls have ears" sense to Elsinore. The fencing scene is one of the most dramatic and realistic that I have seen. This is a clear triumph for RSC Artistic Director Michael Boyd - certainly the best of the main stage offerings this season and even in preview drew a deserved partial standing ovation on the night I saw it. It would have earned an elusive 5 stars but for some of the smaller parts which will doubtless improve with the run - the strangest of these was Gideon Turner's camp Laertes at the start (though thankfully this disapeared on his return). Although this may have been an intentional indication of his maturity with the death of Polonius, his John Inman stle walk drew giggles from the audience, many of whom doubtless half expected him to say "I'm free" when Claudius calls to him in scene 1. This though is a minor quibble and the production is highly recommended. - USER: Whatsonstage.com (62.252.0.6) | 14 Jul 04 |
