- 09 Dec 2010 – 26 Jan 2011
- The National Theatre.
Words by Stephen McEwen.
‘To be or not to be’ must be the question which enters every director’s mind when asking whether to stage a new ‘Hamlet‘ – such a canonical and theatrically admired text, which has been done so brilliantly before, must instil fear in theatre practitioners across the boards, as they are haunted not only by Hamlet’s father, but by memorable performances by the likes of Laurence Olivier and Ben Whishaw. Yet despite this, we have seen a recent upsurge in the performances of the Danish Prince on the English stage; David Tennant at the RSC, Jude Law at the Donmar, John Simm at the Sheffield Crucible, and now, most probably the least well-known, but most well respected actor of the bunch, Rory Kinnear at the National, directed by its artistic director, Nicholas Hytner.
Where to begin with a review of this mammoth text? Well, let’s start with Hamlet. Rory Kinnear captures perfectly the balance between actual and performed madness, exposing the insides of a young man in mental decline. His soliloquies and outbursts alike are gripping, and he even adds moments of cynical humour to a text which can occasionally become mind-numbingly morose. He does begin his performance in a rather self-consciously dramatic way, spitting out his syllables with a kind of hyperbolic enunciation; however, either this works and we become accustomed to it as we get to grips with the performance or, possibly, is used only at the beginning of the performance for a particular conceptual means which evades me. The only other criticism, which is one which Kinnear cannot avoid, but is one we cannot also forget, is the actor’s age. To state that Hamlet always must be played by a young man in his late teens, early twenties, would be to appeal to a theatrical purism which has long ceased to exist, yet in a production which aims to present a young, contemporary Hamlet, who wears hoodies, smokes and dances around to The Prodigy, we cannot help but also notice his receding hairline.
What is most striking about this production is Hytner’s creation of a security obsessed surveillance state. Ultimately, Hamlet and Ophelia do not struggle and come to their tragic ends merely because of mental struggle within, but from an intense state of awareness and pressure which extrinsically surrounds them. Characters are rarely left alone on stage, and we come to see the dark depths behind a modern royal family which could easily grace the cover of any ‘Hello!’ magazine.
Intentionally or not, the production is imbued with contemporary significance and resonance, the masked anarchists who storm Elsinore with Laertes, remind us of the student protests which animate our capital, and the amorous intrigue and planning make us think of Diana and Charles, as well as the ‘unadulterated joy’ (quote Cameron) of the most imminent royal wedding.
The play indeed is, and always has been long. But the swift and easy liaison de scène, as well as the refreshing elements of modernity, make sure that this production, albeit not the most memorable production, is still successful and engaging all the same.
‘Hamlet’ runs at the National Theatre until 26th January, 2011.
The National Theatre (Click Here)
