Review of Hamlet, the Young Vic Theatre, London

Roberta Barker
The Shakespeare Institute
barkerre@hhs.bham.ac.uk
Barker, Roberta. "Review of Hamlet, the Young Vic." Early Modern Literary Studies .! "September,
#$$$%& #'.#()& http&**pur+.oc+c.org*em+s*,(!*barkrev.htm.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. -irecte. b/ 0aurence Boswe++. -esign b/ 1s
-ev+in. 0ighting b/ 2.am Si+verman. 3ith 4au+ Rh/s "5am+et%, -ona+. Sumpter
"6+au.ius * 7host%, Su8anne Bertish "7ertru.e%, Robin Soans "4o+onius%, 9egan -o..s
":phe+ia%, 6hristopher Bowen "0aertes%, Richar. 0intern "5oratio%. Young Vic Theatre,
0on.on. 2pri+ # ( 9a/ #, #$$$.
#. The .econstruction of the +ibera+ humanist sub;ect (( the <in.ivi.ua+< characteri8e.
b/ a coherent, traceab+e, /et irre.ucib+/ persona+ interior +ife (( has been one of
the most significant inf+uences on recent Shakespeare criticism. Stu.ies such as
3.B. 3orthen<s Shakespeare and the Authority of Performance an. Susan
Bennett<s Performing Nostalgia prove that the tren. has reache. that most
character(centre. branch of Shakespeare stu.ies, performance criticism. Sti++, as
3orthen argues, most ma;or Shakespearean actors an. .irectors work within a
Stanis+avskian para.igm that presupposes the e=istence of a stab+e sub;ect. >ew, I
suspect, wou+. seek an e=ception to this tren. in a near+/ <fu++ te=t< Hamlet stage.
at a ma;or "a+beit off(3est 1n.% 0on.on theatre. 2fter a++, the uneas/
ama+gamation of ?uartos an. fo+io we know as <the fu++ te=t of Hamlet< is a high
cu+ture icon. It is often rea. as the ?uintessentia+ portrait of the humanist
in.ivi.ua+, as in @enneth Branagh<s recent fi+m. Yet 0aurence Boswe++<s Young
Vic pro.uction ?uiet+/ cha++enge. receive. i.eas about character, acting, an.
sub;ectivit/, an. aske. a mainstream theatrica+ au.ience to engage with Hamlet
anew.
!. Boswe++<s visua+ choices create. a compe++ing, unsett+ing space for the p+a/. The
traverse staging .enie. spectators a c+ear point of focus an. force. their e/es to
shutt+e back an. forth between actors. The .esigner 1s -ev+in set p+atforms at
either en. of the traverse, occasiona++/ +inking them with a retractab+e bri.ge.
This arrangement fre?uent+/ ha. actors speaking to each other across a
consi.erab+e .ivi.eA even when the bri.ge was in p+ace, it often pu++e. back to
reopen the gu+f. -enmark emerge. as a constant+/ shifting p+ace inhabite. b/
.esperate+/ iso+ate. peop+e. The sense of instabi+it/ an. a+ienation was enhance.
b/ ec+ectic costuming& 5oratio "sporting a ver/ 7eneration B +eather ;acket%,
7ertru.e "in Cueen 9ar/ corset an. choker%, an. :phe+ia "whose broca.e gown
was straight out of me.ieva+ tapestr/% seeme. to inhabit separate wor+.s.
9eanwhi+e, 2.am Si+verman, Boswe++<s superb +ighting .esigner, courageous+/
create. substantia+ poo+s of .arkness onstage. 5e often chose to i++uminate actors<
faces with on+/ one or two +amps. Such ha+f(+ight suite. a swift, austere an. +uci.
pro.uction that presente. no c+ear, rea./(ma.e interpretations to the au.ience.
1ver/thing .eman.e. that each spectator piece together a persona+ s/nthesis.
'. I ha. occasiona+ prob+ems with Boswe++<s approach. The brief appearance of the
ghost as a maske. Samurai on sti+ts seeme. nee.+ess+/ .is;unctive. The rows of
tin/ terracotta so+.iers that guar.e. the stage throughout the secon. ha+f began b/
offering a nice, ?uirk/ image of >ortinbras< arm/, but became .istracting in +ater
scenes. The e=tensive .oub+ing in the cast often /ie+.e. fascinating insights, but
was mere+/ confusing when 0aertes "6hristopher Bowen% an. 5oratio "Richar.
0intern% reappeare., thin+/ .isguise., as members of the p+a/ers< troupe.
D. >or the most part, however, the work of a gifte. ensemb+e interrogate. the
fami+iar images of Shakespeare<s characters to great effect. >or instance, 9egan
-o..s (( ta++, s+en.er, g+acia++/ b+on.e an. porce+ain +ove+/ (( initia++/ +ooke. a
ver/ conventiona+ :phe+ia in.ee.. The surprise was that she cu+tivate. sti++ness in
a part that often sen.s actresses into Stanis+avskian over.rive. 5er econom/ of
gesture emphasi8e. the gir+<s fro8en obe.ience to patriarcha+ authorit/, whi+e
refusing to e=p+ain awa/ her ma.ness with g+ib ps/cho+ogi8ing. 2t :phe+ia<s +ast
appearance (( her skirts saturate. with water an. mu., her han.s fu++ of .ripping
wee.s ( -o..s< restraint was more heartren.ing than a c+inica+ .emonstration of
insanit/ cou+. have been.
. Su8anne Bertish<s 7ertru.e a+so began as a stu./ in strict composure& a risk/
choice, for it fai+e. even to hint at the reasons for the Cueen<s "o<erhast/"
remarriage. But in the <c+oset< scene her .ignifie. persona .isso+ve. un.er the
weight of 5am+etEs accusations. Sobbing vio+ent+/ an. c+utching her be+ove. son
for .ear +ife, 7ertru.e seeme. to take on the se+f he offere. her. 2t such moments,
BertishEs portrait of the Cueen<s constraine., contingent i.entit/ was .eep+/
moving. 4+a/ing her husban.s both past an. present, -ona+. Sumpter triumphe.
in one of the most fascinating of a++ possib+e Shakespearean .oub+e(acts. 5e
ignore. 5am+et<s insistence on the po+ar opposition between 6+au.ius an. his
mur.ere. brother, an. chose instea. to e=p+ore their para++e+ agonies. Sumpter<s
6+au.ius, a soft(spoken an. fata++/ se+f(absorbe. po+itician, was touche. with the
7host<s gui+t/ pain. Its ravages transforme. him into a frightening+/ s/mpathetic
figure.
F. 4au+ Rh/s< 5am+et .ominate. even such formi.ab+e compan/. Rh/s is best known
to cinemagoers as the .evote. Theo Van 7ogh in Robert 2+tman<s incent and
TheoA 1ng+ish theatre au.iences wi++ remember his acc+aime. Ro/a+ Gationa+
Theatre appearances as 1.gar in !ing Lear an. the /oung 2. 1. 5ousman in The
"n#ention of Lo#e. Since his ha++marks are inte++igence, nervous intensit/, an.
.iffi.ent charm, I e=pecte. a conventiona++/ fragi+e, nob+e 5am+et from him. 5is
first entrance, smi+ing sh/+/ through a f+oo. of tears an. c+utching a battere.
4enguin paperback, threatene. to confirm m/ e=pectations. But c+oser
observation revea+e. that his face, though pa+e an. ha+f(swa++owe. b/ improbab+/
huge .ark e/es, was no Romantic c+ichH. It was in a state of constant an. vio+ent
metamorphosis, which, over the course of the evening, suggeste. b/ turns an
a+oof aristocrat, a frightene. pub+ic schoo+bo/, a societ/ beaut/, a c+own, an i.iot
an. a .eathEs hea.. 9u+tip+e 5am+ets were sta+king the stage.
I. The first encounter between 5am+et an. his father<s ghost confirme. that here was
a performance of breathtaking .aring an. vo+ati+it/. 2t the sight of the ghost,
Rh/s< 5am+et f+ashe. from e+egant mocker/ of his unc+e<s .rinking to hi.eous+/
.roo+ing shock. 5is mouth wi.e open in a soun.+ess scream, his +ong arms
stretching out as if across the river of 0ethe itse+f, he seeme. a man sunk in an
irrevocab+e break.own. Yet the ghost ha. scarce+/ e=ite. before the same mouth
was purse. into a mocking moue an. the arms pro.uce. a f+ambo/ant shrug,
s+oughing off 5oratio<s s/mpath/, the au.ience<s assumptions an. the who+e
weight of Romantic tra.ition with a .e+iberate+/ camp f+ourish. This was 5am+et
without a through(+ine.
). The fami+iar sense of te=t an. actor as .iscrete entities was absent from Rh/s<
performanceA it was supp+ante. b/ an unpre.ictab+e an. tota++/ committe.
.ia+ogue between p+a/er an. ro+e. Rh/s prove. himse+f an attentive rea.er of
Shakespeare<s te=t /et .i. not scrup+e to p+a/ with it, as when he informe.
0intern<s a.oring 5oratio that there were more things in heaven an. in earth "than
are .reamt of in our phi+osoph/." 5e refuse. to stan. outsi.e his part or to
s?uee8e himse+f into a step(b/(step argument about it. Rather, he e=p+ore. the
imp+ications of his own range. 5is ?uiet wit, his finick/ refinement, his ph/sica+
grace, his often embarrassing openness, an. even his 3e+sh vowe+s were a++
pushe. to their +imits. The resu+t was a tour of 5am+et<s en.+ess contra.ictions as
we++ as of a particu+ar actor<s persona+it/. It forme. the strong heart of a
pro.uction that in.icate. how much more there is in heaven, earth an. Hamlet
than is .reamt of in our bar.o+atr/.

Works Cited
Bennett, Susan. Performing Nostalgia$ Shifting Shakespeare and the
%ontemporary Past. 0on.on& Rout+e.ge, #$$F.
Shakespeare, 3i++iam. The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark. 1..
T.J.B.Spencer. 0on.on& 4enguin, #$),.
3orthen, 3i++iam B. Shakespeare and the Authority of Performance. 6ambri.ge&
6ambri.ge K4, #$$I.
Responses to this piece inten.e. for the Rea.ers< >orum ma/ be sent to the 1.itor at
0.9.5opkins@shu.ac.uk.
L #$$$(, 0isa 5opkins "1.itor, EMLS%.