National Theatre Live: Hamlet

Again I am so thankful that The National Theatre decided to bring productions to cinemas as it means I got to see another masterfully put together show. I know that much of the audience, particularly those younger, will have been drawn to this because of Benedict Cumberbatch. However, I want to put in a word for the rest of the cast, those with familiar faces and those I wish I knew more of. This show was cast like a dream, each artist playing the part in a dedicated, energetic and well studied way. Not once did the energy drop, every word was clear and punctuated with gesture. The use of intonation, pauses and emphasis helping tell the story in a way, I found, made it much clearer than I have experienced it in that past.

Not once did I dare to drag my eye from the stage for fear of missing a detail.

The set was beautifully put together so as to immerse the audience in the setting, from the off, switching from that small spotlight on Hamlet to the suddenly and almost shockingly lavish mansion in Denmark. Then to the costumes, just as lavish but for Hamlet’s, a token of his distaste for his royal life and a tribute to his grief to which is sent into obsession. This palace of a set was then home to darkness after the interval, as the betrayals started to come to light, dark ‘mud’ was on the floor, the clothes no longer lavish and showy, all showing the grief, none more than Ophelia’s. Ophelia, dressed all in white for her innocence and light then turned to black in her grief and decaying mind.

Also here is where I have to mention Siän Brook’s amazing and emotionally torturing performance, the small nuances and movements to show Ophelia’s madness had taken over her body and mind. My heart went out to her as she looked like a broken child in her last moments before drifting peacefully into a lit door, tastefully showing her final moments alive.

The lighting of certain doors, the splintered web like projections on the walls were all fantastic, highlighting and shocking. Alongside this, the way, once in Hamlet’s mind scape, everyone else would slow, under low light, as he spoke. This was used in place of freeze frames, it made the scene a living thing, making sure it kept attention and also gave you the feel of ‘real time’, that his thoughts raced by while everything else kept a slow pace. It must have taken great skill and practice to get the cues just right (I did see a lot of running to change sets and get to cues). This mirrored when it was reversed, all moved quickly while time slowed for the final blow Hamlet dealt to his fencing foe.

The costumes, I will admit, puzzled me as they seemed to be a clash of times, this included props and music. There was appearances of uniforms fit to be victorian, dresses that looked 40s and then casual wear that looked modern. In the music, using record players and classical music but using more modern means to set dramatic scenes. Perhaps this was a homage to the past incarnations of Hamlet?

And finally, Benedict Cumberbatch, blew everyone away. His constant energy was amazing, even through shouted lines, carrying people and sets on and off stage and running from one end to the other, not to mention the emotional energy it takes to perform a play like Hamlet. He never seems to hold back, and I hark back to Frankenstein, another amazing and mind blowing NT production, where he never shied away from the animal and visceral nature of Frankensteins creation and kept its emotion and weight. He did the same here, you felt Hamlets frustration in a way I have not seen before, there was less sadness and more anger. You could feel that he truly had become obsessed with his revenge yet feared to do it and his anger at the world, himself, his feelings and his family. No wonder the man is exhausted. Every fibre of his being goes into his performances and he deserves every accolade, as do his co stars.

Overall, I am buzzed as usual, blow away by the talent of the NT cast, directors, set designers, costume, lighting, choreographers, and all others involved. It makes me wish I could be up there yet fear I could never do it justice. I hope that I can see it all live sometime and maybe, one day, tell these amazing people how awe struck they make me.

#Hamlet #Shakespeare #theatre #benedictcumberbatch