It's no surprise that the Almeida Theatre is to transfer their smash hit production of Hamlet to the West End, starring Andrew Scott and Juliet Stephenson and directed by Robert Ike.
Ecstatically received by critics and those audiences who were able to get tickets for the premiere at the small Islington venue, it's fantastic that more people will be able to see it in the West End.
Part of the attraction is the participation of Scott who has a huge fan base thanks to his leading TV roles, especially his radical interpretation of Moriarty, Sherlock Holmes's arch enemy in the recent reboot of the detectives adventures. Juliet Stephenson, who plays Hamlet's mother, is also firmly established as one of the UK's finest actors on stage, TV and in films like Truly, Madly, Deeply.
None of this would matter if the production weren't brilliant. And it is. Director Robert Icke has triumphantly staged a number of great plays over recent years in vibrant, clear and uncluttered productions which often incorporate the amalgamation of live action with projected video imagery. His interpretation of Orwell's 1984 is about to open in New York after several West End revivals and the transfer of his production of Oresteia moved from Islington to the Trafalgar Studios, winning great acclaim.
Hamlet is undisputedly the Shakespeare play that can speak to every age in which it's performed. The elemental story of a son and prince battling with avenging the murder of his father, the king, morphs depending on how the title character is portrayed and the society in which the text is presented. Hamlets can be any combination of violent, reflective, religious, political, crazed or coolheadedly intellectual depending on the actors interpretation and successful performances reflect the mood of the times.
Scott's Hamlet was always going to be scatterbrained and easily relatable to, it's his trade mark style, as is the slightly dangerous air of mental instability.
Aligned with Shakespeare's writing the result is a vulnerable, constantly questioning youth torn between making sense of the shifting morality of the politics of the day and his love for family. This interpretation speaks directly to our bewilderment with modern politics and our desire to "belong" as we distance ourselves from Europe and Trump's America.
Icke brings his trademark elegant, contemporary aesthetic to the action with modern costumes and regular use of video which reflects the news footage through which we view and understand royalty and celebrity. Perhaps the most poignant are those which show Denmark’s First Family in happier times. It’s an important back drop to events which remind us that the animosity within the play has not always been there.
It's a performance and production that will come to define theatre in 2017 and you shouldn't delay in booking to see this urgent, important revival and performance.
If you’re a fan of the musicals of Stephen Sondheim such as SWEENEY TODD (recently at the London Coliseum) FOLLIES (about to be revived at the National Theatre) MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG (at the Harold Pinter Theatre a year ago) SUNDAY IN THE PARK WITH GEORGE (currently on in New York starring movie star Jake Gyllenhaal) and COMPANY (soon to be reinterpreted in the West End with a woman as the central character) you may enjoy the rare opportunity to discover an early work of his, ANYONE CAN WHISTLE, which I’ve just directed at The Union Theatre and which runs until March 8th.