VENUE LISTING
Royal Shakespeare Theatrealso: The Dell |
| Address | Waterside Stratford-Upon-Avon Warwickshire CV37 6BB |
| Telephone | 0870 6091110 |
| Station |
| Description | The Dell is the RSC's outdoor stage in the theatre gardens in Stratford upon Avon bordered by the river and Holy Trinity Church. |
WHAT'S ON
Hamlet(Play )to Synopsis
Dates: Prices: Please check with venue Cast & Creative Team
David Farr's new Royal Shakespeare Company production of Hamlet starring Jonathan Slinger in the title role opened in the RST this week. Simon Tavener Fiona Mountford Paul Taylor David Farr's new take on Hamlet takes place in what looks like the fencing gym of a run-down public school... For the final act, heavies cart away the parquet floor in sections, leaving a raw expanse of earth for the gravediggers, the botched burial of Ophelia and climactic duel. Before that, though, in narrative terms, it remains a real puzzle as to why the proceedings are trapped in the sports hall... At first, I found Jonathan Slinger’s performance grating to a degree. He has virtuosic vocal range that can move between mock-falsetto to a resonant subterranean dungeon of a sound. And, boy, does he let you know this in an oh-so-slow delivery of the earlier soliloquies where you could drive a bus through the pauses and where he seems to atomise the speeches a series of discrete effects... What epitomises a production that I came to admire, is contained in the unusual stress-pattern Slinger gives to the play's most famous line: “To be or not to be, that is the question”... It's a measure of how Farr's production, which has a wild inventiveness, perhaps too much requires a familiarity with this tragedy. [WOS_QU@TE]#The defining notes of Jonathan Slinger’s Hamlet are relentless anger and withering sarcasm#Charles Spencer[/WOS_QU@TE] Charles Spencer Michael Billington - by Katherine Boone Related Content
Date: 27 March 2013 The pedigree of those involved in this production is undoubtedly strong: David Farr has directed many well-received productions for the Royal Shakespeare Company over a number of years and Jonathan Slinger is one of the most lauded of the current generation of classical actors. They have a well-established working relationship, so why then is their Hamlet so far from being a complete success? Aesthetically we are taken into a large hall, with a stage at one end. Are we in a community centre or perhaps a minor public school? It is not clear. It's a brilliantly executed piece of stage design (by Jon Bausor), but the relevance to the narrative is never fully revealed. My suspicion is that it emerged out of a desire to explain why swords are present in a contemporary setting. So a sporting environment with lots of fencing ephemera allows for this to be resolved - but quite what this municipal setting has to say about the rest of the text, I am at a loss to explain. Irrespective of the setting, any Hamlet stands or falls on the interpretations of the characters. There are some positives here. Pippa Nixon continues to shine as one of the brightest performers of her generation. Her Ophelia is intelligent, awkward and very much aware of the dysfunction around her - thus rendering her mental collapse all the more touching. Alex Waldmann also impresses as Horatio, bringing an endearing earnestness to the character. Waldmann, as he showed in King John, always a very watchable actor. Indeed I wondered how different this production might have been had he been in the title role. Certainly I hope his time will come in this regard. There is also a robust and handsome Laertes from Luke Norris and I did warm to Charlotte Cornwell's Gertrude after a somewhat uncertain start. I have admired much of Jonathan Slinger's work with the RSC but I do feel that, on this occasion, the company quite simply gets it wrong. He is an actor of considerable talent and great presence - but, for me, Hamlet is not his role. I get the impression that he has been working on his interpretation for many years - developing ideas and new ways of approaching the (all too familiar) lines. And I'm certain that he has a clear vision for what he is trying to achieve but he (and Farr) were unable to communicate it to me. [WOS_QU@TE]#Shakespeare's advice to the Players seems to have been completely ignored#[/WOS_QU@TE] He employs so many 'actorly' tricks, both verbally and physically, that it is hard to see through to the emotional truth of what the character is experiencing. I certainly get the manic side to his interpretation but never really feel his grief or deep depression. It is a cliché to say that less is more - but I think that stripping away some of the excesses of his performance would deliver a far more satisfying result. At 3 hours 45 minutes, this is a long evening in the theatre; much of this stems from a fatal lack of pace, as it is far from a full text. Quite simply, too many lines are indulged. Indeed, Shakespeare's advice to the Players seems to have been completely ignored with all of the excesses Hamlet demands his actors must avoid being all too evident in the production as a whole. I suspect, in the end, this is a production that will divide audiences and critics alike. There will be those like me who do not buy into the Farr/Slinger vision and those who are enthused and engaged by it. Certainly both reactions were evident at the end of this performance. Related Content
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COMING SOON:
All's Well that Ends Well - Click here for tickets and info
Dates from 19th July 2013 to 26th September 2013
Richard II - Click here for tickets and info
Dates from 10th October 2013 to 16th November 2013
Wendy & Peter Pan - Click here for tickets and info
Dates from 10th December 2013 to 2nd March 2014
