Not Your Mum's Hamlet

Warning— Nicholas Hytner’s production of Hamlet is not your typical Shakespearean play. Gone are the period costumes and expected medieval-like scenery that usually accompanies it. This is, instead, replaced by an alternate-universe and modern Hamlet complete with machine guns, pop music and suits.  The only aspect reminiscent of a familiar Hamlet is the Elizabethan language they carried over and employed. I sat down not knowing what to expect, and when the curtain opened I was sure I had stepped into the wrong theatre by mistake. It was nothing I had thought it would be, yet it was everything it should have been.

Maybe it was, in part, due to my unfamiliarity with the details of Shakespeare’s Hamlet—my college academia seemed to have skipped this particular Shakespeare legend—but I found this production extremely interesting. I have heard many express their dislike, mostly owing the length of the play, but I can’t recall checking my phone or wishing for its quick end. I was enthralled by how they had managed to make a completely different take on Hamlet. The Elizabethan language was at first a surprise in contrast to the contemporary settings, but it inexplicably worked. For if the production crew had not retained this crucial element, this would not be Hamlet but simply an interpretation of Hamlet.

Rory Kinnear’s performance as Hamlet was indeed powerful and commanding yet it seemed an unusual choice. His age and look—no Mel Gibson—did not seem to fit the standard Hamlet character who is supposed to still be in university and has the very youthful Ruth Negga as Ophelia hopelessly in love and waiting in the wings for him. Other than this questionable casting, the actors did a superb job portraying this infamously twisted royal family. The theatre in which this production was put on was in the very nice National Theatre but did not seem to fit the stylistics of the set. From where I sat, I could not really see one particular corner of the stage as the seating is rounded around the stage, yet the set includes three walls that are placed somewhat slanted toward the middle-right of the audience. If I missed anything significant over there I will never know.

           One has to applaud the creativity it took to put together this production of Hamlet. I have posted this review a while after we have seen it but this play has been one of the most memorable to me, standing out because its creativity. Though the set could have been curtailed for better audience viewing, it was a play completely unexpected, brilliantly original and gives Hamlet a new twist. Shakespeare’s work does not need improving upon, The Merry Wives of Windsor shows that much, but it does not hurt to give it a little spice now and again. 

Camille Brake
UCI