Andrew Scott's Hamlet (Almeida)

{Spoiler - click to view}
C12 is possibly the best seat in the house, as the players scene is done with the majority of the cast taking seats quickly placed in front of row C, meaning 2 foot in front to the left was Andrew Scott and 2 foot in front to the right was Angus Wright squirming at the action. This also meant my mug was plastered on the screens in the back ground, as this and several other scenes uses cameras to show action up close (what is this thing that has started happening, this then Bat Out Of Hell?)

I adored how Andrew Scott seemed to be coming up with the lines from within, not from a script but from inside his own head like it was a long adlib. He made it seem to very natural. Angus Wright was odd... I sort of got what he was doing, a very clean and non-panto villain-esq Claudius but it made it slightly awkward in places. I thought Jessica Brown Findley actually created an Ophelia who wasn't a damp squib and her descent and suicide didn't jar like they normally do.


Enjoyed the additional scene and thought it fit seamlessly.
I agree it should end with Hamlet's death, no one cares about Horatio and Fortinbras by this point, though I did enjoy thinking about the watches and their meaning.

-puts on resident board member sound design hat-

My only problem was the sound. Dialogue was rather quiet even though it was all radio mic'ed, though I was front row so not a problem but wouldn't have wanted to be in a back corner. But the main thing is, it being a Tom Gibbons show, sound effects after smashed into your ears at every scene change making the dialogue afterwards that much harder to hear as your ear readjusts. This harshness worked well in 1984 but I think it jarred a lot with this production. Horses for courses and your millage might vary, but not for me.

Now Hamlet isn't one of my favourite Shakespeares', but this this is a rather cracking production of it. 4 1/2 stars.