The Stage

Hamlet

Published Friday 30 April 2004 at 14:40 by Peter Hepple

“It may be Hamlet, but not as we know it,” is likely to be our first reaction to Trevor Nunn’s production. It is in modern dress - everything from ball gowns to combat gear - and Hamlet himself is a very scruffy student indeed, with disgusting trousers, a jacket not much better, a shirt buttoned up wrongly and the look of a lad who hangs around shopping centres.

Yet it has a lot to commend it, especially for the young, who are almost forcibly fed Shakespeare in a context they can understand, despite the looming castle, designed by John Gunter, in which it is set. And it must be said that the style grows even on the traditionalists, for it is undeniably watchable.

On the other hand it does have its drawbacks, particularly in the final act. We don’t quite believe in Hamlet’s conversion, particularly after the relish with which he has despatched Polonius, or that he should turn out to be such a good swordsman, as he triumphs in combat with Rory Kinnear’s excellent Laertes.

But Ben Whishaw does provide a fine Hamlet within its parameters. Sullen and mixed up he may appear but he can put the verse across and youth is, of course, on his side. As it is with Samantha Whittaker’s Ophelia, an immensely affecting performance in the character’s decline, a sharp contrast to her previous girlish high spirits and thoroughly believable.

Admittedly, it is more difficult to get to grips with Claudius and Gertrude. Tom Mannion and Imogen Stubbs both appear rather too youthful - the former, in a well-cut lounge suit, lacks some of the attributes of even usurping majesty, the latter portrays a strikingly attractive exercise fanatic who resorts to the bottle as Hamlet reveals his mad, stricken state. Nicholas Jones’ twinkling, rather mischievous Polonius is more in traditional character and thereby more realistic.

The youthful ensemble is strong and promising but it is the veteran Sid Livingstone who continually catches the eye in a series of portrayals from Player King to gravedigger.