My thoughts on HAMLET

I don't have time write a full review, but I can sum up the experience in a word.

Astonishing.

More to come later.

I was also thoroughly bored.

Add me to the chorus of the unimpressed. Aside from Law's solid (though far from earth-shattering) performance, it's one of the most poorly directed Shakespeare productions I've ever seen, with an almost uniformly clueless cast.
My review here

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You are a nutter, it's the most boring Shakespeare I've seen in years.

There is a lot of touchy-feely business between Hamlet and Horatio in this production. Infer from that what you will.

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What I found so remarkable about this production was how accessible it was. The story was very clear and, aside from a few dull spots near the end, it was a briskly paced production.

Law's Hamlet is very angry, but multifaceted enough that he finds a lot of different ways of playing the role. No, Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern don't register. Yes, Claudius is a bit too kind. But McNally is very good, as is Geraldine James as Gertie.

Lots of nice stage pictures from Grandage; "To be or not to be" didn't really need to be in a snowstorm, but it was pretty.

I take back my "astonishing" from earlier. Astonishing was "Exit the King." This was merely spellbinding.

Updated On: 10/3/09 at 11:26 PM

I agree with you that McNally was good, but I honestly just disagree so much with you on all the other points (imho, etc, we're all entitled to feel the way we feel, but it's rare for me to be so completely unable to comprehend any of the good things about a show that others see!). It was SO boring. So long-winded. So unfunny (and Hamlet is a very funny tragedy, done right!).

I thought Law was good but one-dimensional, far too sane and too old-looking for the part. The fight scene was particularly badly choreographed. Can't comment on Geraldine James as I saw Penelope Wilton in the role, but I HATED how they staged the bedroom scene. Wtf was going on with that curtain? I just felt like it was really pretentious and a chore to sit through.

It was ambivalently received in London. Some people (like your friend) absolutely loved it, but many others thought it really wasn't up to scratch. I think a big part of this is down to the RSC Hamlet, which was on last summer through till Christmas, and which was so ensemble-tastic and funny and fresh that this one pales incredibly in comparison.

The cast of this are not bad actors in any way shape or form, but they don't live up to expectation at all. Plus, it's just badly directed and it's very very Donmar, which is an acquired taste (weird costumes, mood music, filmic framing). I guess it's horses for courses, but I was close to walking out (and I have never walked out of a show in my life) of this, it was such hard going.

There's never a bad moment to post this either: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ymh7ZOgt0HU

I think Weez said it best over on WOS:

"It was a good production. Not great. Definitely good, maybe even very good, but not great. I may or may not have laughed a bit at the beginning when it kicked off, and you could tell just by looking- nay, just by LISTENING that it was a Donmar production of a Shakespearean tragedy. Something about the sound and the lighting and the set just dragged me back to Othello. wink.gif Top notch though; as far as the stage went, it looked and sounded great. And the snow! I loffed the snow. And the billowing swathes of fabric, another Othello-flashback-inducer. :3 (I shan't comment on the costumes though; I don't believe they're worth the dignity of comment. XP)

But the cast, alas. D: Well, Jude Law was definitely very good, I'll give him that. I was able to watch him as the character and not the actor, and he was suitably charismatic and definitely knew what he was doing. Maybe he was a little too confident and decisive for a Hamlet, but it still worked. Which was very fortunate for the production indeed, because there just wasn't much charisma or cohesion from the rest of them at all. D: I liked the mad Ophelia well enough, but I wasn't really feeling anything from the rest of them beyond basic competence. Which was upsetting, because I so desperately wanted to! XD It was very much all about the titular Dane, with not the strongest of ensembles to fall back on. AND THEY SHOULD HAVE BEEN! D:

There was something a little off about the direction; I know some people get irked when a play gets bogged down with cutesy stage business, but I really felt they were playing the text *very* straight. Lots of standing around performing lines. I know I know I KNOW I shouldn't be comparing it with the RSC production, but there was a lot of cutesy stage business in that production and it really REALLY helped bring the play alive. Just little gestures and certain movements and even a bit of messing around with the text. There wasn't any of that here. So if you like your Hamlet played straight, you're going to LOVE this. But if you're the sort who's likely to ask "but why are they just STANDING there while they speak?" then you might understand at least a little of my woe.

Overall, while the RSC production conveyed a certain palatial opulence that made it feel like epic-scale tragedy, this one felt like a much smaller, colder, darker, domestic tragedy. Again, if that works for you, hurrah! It just didn't work for me as well as it might have. XD

(Also, this feels terrible to say, because I love the Wyndham's dearly, but it was peculiarly ill-matched to the production! The Novello, even with its dodgy sightlines, was a splendid match for the RSC production. But this one just didn't fit comfortably on the Wyndham's stage. Sizewise it was obviously fine! But the Wyndham's looked all wrong around the edges somehow. XD)

I think I'm done complaining. I'll definitely be seeing it again, and maybe I caught the production on an off-night and it'll be freakin' AMAZING come August, but I won't feel particularly forlorn when it moves off to Denmark.

EDIT: actually, I do have a couple more things to say - Where were the jokes?! and Why no character arcs?!. *Now* I'm done. XD"

Updated On: 10/4/09 at 12:13 AM

Actually, there wasn't *enough* touchy-feely business between Hamlet and Horatio in this production. Hamlet's all "HORATIO! I'M SO PLEASED TO SEE YOU!", from two metres away with awkward arm movements. That's a natural moment for a hug, and it just looks frickin' AWKWARD without one.

I'm pleased to see I don't have to recount my thoughts again. XD And if you think waiting until November to see this is bad, think of me last year. I booked my tickets for the RSC Hamlet in January - and had to wait until November. And that was a really GOOD production! I hope it translates at least half as well to film, so you can see at least a little of what you've missed.

In the name of not being a complete negative nancy though, I'd like to emphasise that I really LOVED the set, lighting, and sound design. During the scene where Claudius is "OH NO GUILTY CONSCIENCE I MUST PRAY!" and Hamlet's all "I'MA KILL HIM oh wait I'm not OR AM I no I'm not", watch Hamlet's shadow. No, I'm not kidding, watch his shadow. I couldn't take my eyes off it second time round. Indeed, as the cast don't seem to have perked up any from London, you should watch the fantastic lighting and wonderful set as much as you possibly can.

Moving on!

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Updated On: 10/4/09 at 07:16 AM

Hamlet was one screwed up dude. He should have killed his uncle right off the bat. Then there would have been no play. But I don't believe in ghosts anyway.

I saw this a couple of weeks ago and although I wasn't bored and I definitely enjoyed myself, it's kind of a weak production all around. I thought Jude Law was fantastic...I also thought that Gwilym Lee who plays Laertes was really good. I'll agree with others and say that Kevin McNally was an okay Claudius but he was too nice...I didn't really believe that he was capable of poisoning his brother and plotting to kill his nephew. I was also really disappointed with Ron Cook who plays Polonius; I felt he missed a lot of the humor in the role. The rest of the audience seemed to find him hilarious but I think that was more of a testament to the strength of the text rather than his performance.

I seem to be alone in hating the sets and costumes. From where I was in the mid mezz, all of the black and dark neutrals just sort of blended together and it dulled the impact of certain scenes.

It's definitely worth seeing for Law's performance though, I really really loved him.

I don't think ANYONE has had ANYTHING nice to say about the costumes. I think to appreciate the full awesomeness of the set, you need to be a Donmar devotee. It's like they picked up the stage of the Donmar Warehouse - easily one of the finest theatres in London - and plonked it on the stage of the... well, Wyndham's in the UK, and whatever it is for you guys. Broadhurst? So I guess if you neither know nor care for the Donmar (and there are those who don't), then the set probably wouldn't resound with wonder for you as much as it does for me, one of the afore-mentioned devotees. :)

Is Gwilym Lee Laertes now? How funny that Guildensterns always seem to understudy and end up playing Laerteses. XD Who's playing Guildenstern if Lee is Laertes?

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Updated On: 10/5/09 at 01:35 PM

Add me to the chorus of those who though Law was great. I've only ever seen him in one movie (CLOSER), so I wasn't sure what to expect going in. But he certainly impressed me.

Overall I enjoyed the production, although it was the first professional production of Shakespeare I've seen, so I have nothing to compare it to. But as YankeeFan said, the stage pictures were lovely and it was very accessible.