Hamlet

Synopsis

Written between 1599 and 1601. The play, set in Denmark, recounts how Prince Hamlet exacts revenge on his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet's father, the King, and then taken the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. The play vividly charts the course of real and feigned madness - from overwhelming grief to seething rage - and explores themes of treachery, revenge, incest, and moral corruption.

Our Review:

23 September 2010

My prime reaction to Paul Miller’s tidy and workmanlike production of Hamlet for Sheffield Crucible is of disappointment, for what seemed likely to be inspired casting creates little magic and the interpretation of the play remains oddly detached and bloodless.

Against Tom Scutt’s elegant and flexible set, with splendidly atmospheric and tightly focussed lighting from Oliver Fenwick, the opening scene on the battlements never produces the necessary frisson. Moving down to the court, the expected relationship of John Nettles as Claudius and Barbara Flynn as Gertrude fails to materialise. Nettles’ tendency to play the sub-text doesn’t help: Claudius is devious, so deliver the lines to illustrate that he is not speaking truth, with the result that any sense of Claudius as a smooth operator is lost. Nor do the unimaginative modern costumes achieve much.

Mostly, though, Miller’s policy of placing actors at a distanc...

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