July 5, 2011
Merton College Chapel was a wonderful setting in most respects for Hamlet. It is slightly eerie already, and on a typically rainy summer’s evening, the light through the windows gave extra atmospheric touches to the scene involving the dead King’s ghost. The only disappointment of the evening was that the acoustics in the Chapel did little to assist the actors and it was very unclear in places due to the echo of louder voices. This fact really let down the performance which was otherwise well-constructed.
The play's famous themes of madness, betrayal and revenge were well expressed in this performance. The juxtaposition of Hamlet’s madness with the supposed sanity of the Court was particularly effective.
Hamlet was played very convincingly, with some good stalking around the stage area and some impressive emotion in the scene involving his father’s ghost. His sardonic comments were enjoyable throughout and his portrayal of becoming more and more unhinged throughout the production was excellent.
Ophelia’s father Polonius was also very well played; slightly fussy, overly jolly and an excellent characterisation overall. His group scenes were enjoyable and his speech before Laertes leaves for France was especially amusing.
The stage layout was interesting, set as it was between two sides of the audience and in the beautiful location of a college chapel. I was impressed by the ability of the actors and the production values. Unfortunately, the sound quality really let the whole thing down.; had I not seen Hamlet before, I might not have been able to tell what was happening. If these actors and this production were in another setting, or if something could be done to improve the sound (perhaps hanging up a lot of soft stuff for the next shows?), I would have no qualms in thoroughly recommending this production.
The play's famous themes of madness, betrayal and revenge were well expressed in this performance. The juxtaposition of Hamlet’s madness with the supposed sanity of the Court was particularly effective.
Hamlet was played very convincingly, with some good stalking around the stage area and some impressive emotion in the scene involving his father’s ghost. His sardonic comments were enjoyable throughout and his portrayal of becoming more and more unhinged throughout the production was excellent.
Ophelia’s father Polonius was also very well played; slightly fussy, overly jolly and an excellent characterisation overall. His group scenes were enjoyable and his speech before Laertes leaves for France was especially amusing.
The stage layout was interesting, set as it was between two sides of the audience and in the beautiful location of a college chapel. I was impressed by the ability of the actors and the production values. Unfortunately, the sound quality really let the whole thing down.; had I not seen Hamlet before, I might not have been able to tell what was happening. If these actors and this production were in another setting, or if something could be done to improve the sound (perhaps hanging up a lot of soft stuff for the next shows?), I would have no qualms in thoroughly recommending this production.