The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) presents a pacy and captivating new version of Shakespeare's most famous tragedy: Hamlet, with Luke Thallon in the title role. The play is set in the aftermath of the King of Denmark’s death, as his son Hamlet grieves that loss, and mourns the marriage of his mother Gertrude (Nancy Carroll) to the old King’s brother, Claudius (Jared Harris). Hamlet is convinced by a ghostly apparition resembling his father that Claudius murdered the old King, and he sets out on a path to revenge - or at least, he starts mulling it over. 

This version of the play, directed by Rupert Goold, is set entirely upon an early 20th Century ship, with a vast expanse of ocean across the back of the stage, courtesy of Video Designer, Akhila Krishnan. This is combined with an epically discombobulating set, designed by Es Devlin: the ship’s deck tilts at such a dizzying angle that the cast seems in danger of being tipped off into the cold, unappealing waves. 

The design is surprisingly versatile, moving seamlessly between the precipitous upper deck, the bowels of the engine room, and individuals’ private quarters. The ensemble cast represent the ship’s crew and passengers, initially dancing in the lush ballroom, before spiralling into chaos as the ship’s keel becomes more uneven - hinting that there are bigger issues at play. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark, and it resonates beyond the claustrophobic family drama of Hamlet’s revenge.

On that subject, Luke Thallon boils with nervous energy as the troubled Prince, drawing the audience into his inner thoughts as he soliloquizes, and raising more than a few laughs in the process - it’s not all doom and gloom. It’s fascinating to watch Hamlet’s descent into madness, however much of it is being feigned…

Unwillingly dragged into the tragedy are Hamlet’s one-time sweetheart, Ophelia (Nia Towle), and her brother Laertes - played by Lewis Shepherd - who springs into decisive action, where Hamlet hesitates. The siblings’ father, Polonius, is often played for laughs as a bumbling bore, but in the hands of Elliot Levey the character is kindly and sensitive, if blithely keen to assist new King Claudius above all else. 

At the heart of this production is the famous play-within-the-play. A wandering troupe of actors offers an evening’s entertainment, kicked off by an acting masterclass from their Player King (Anton Lesser), who runs through a gamut of emotions at Hamlet’s request - and in doing so, he spurs the prince on to remove himself from an emotional black hole of ruminating. 

The production is tense, captivating and innovative, with some changes to the script implemented in favour of the intensity of the story, and its seafaring setting. The cuts are necessary in a mammoth play such as this - the end result is pacy and thrilling, but it still runs at an hour and a half in the first act, and one hour after the interval. And from the audience’s reaction - many were on their feet at the end - this production will surely float, not sink.

Five Stars

Hamlet was reviewed on Tuesday 18 February by Jessica Clixby at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Royal Shakespeare Theatre, where it runs until Saturday 29 March.