Andrew Scott's Hamlet (Almeida)

Thank you!! I think I may well just do that. Luckily I saw R&G are Dead recently, so certain plot-points are especially prominent   but a grasp on a complete summary fresh in my mind will certainly help, fab advice! I hope I do too - on paper there's no reason not to: Andrew Scott & Shakespeare, so I'm game! haha

Wow. Wow. WOW. This was simply extraordinary. The best part of four hours just flew by. As I mentioned above, my first Hamlet, but my 3rd professional Shakespearean production and easily my favourite so far by a mile (though I am seeing NT's Twelfth Night next Tues!).

The use of the text and the interpretation by the cast & director were stunning. Not a bad link in the cast, I would say, and it was a nice mix of a more colloquial command of the language, and a very traditional one. I thought Peter Wight's Polonius was a wonderful man of caring and love, with wonderful comic timing, exacerbated by his life slowly slipping away from him, until, of course, it does in a much more physically gruesome manner. His children, Luke Thompson as Laertes and Jessica Brown Findlay as Ophelia, had that unbreakable sibling bond in life and in death, that had obviously come from their doting father, and all anger they had still very clearly came from that place of love.

Angus Wright's stoic and poised Claudius, giving his guilty conscience a real platform to shine, was a perfect match for Juliet Stevenson's breathtaking and highly emotional Gertrude, who really comes into her own in "Act 3", making the ultimate sacrifice for her son, which turns out to be a fruitless task. Amidst all the commotion of the fencing, the look she gives Hamlet when she knows she is going to die was heart-breaking, and certainly had me welling up.

Having recently seen Rozencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead at The Old Vic, the choice to have them male & female respectively was a wonderful touch - not least to then have them in a relationship, possibly a childhood romance from their school days? When Hamlet tells Guildenstern he loved her, it adds a touch of poignancy to their relationship - not to mention with Rozencrantz, too; a little bit of romantic competition, a conquest Hamlet failed to win? Though he flits between love and love-not with Ophelia, does Hamlet ever really 'love' anyone?

And, of course, Andrew Scott as Hamlet himself. Speaking with such natural command of the language, it's as if I were speaking to my friends on any normal day. His grief strikes him down as a one-note Hamlet for the very first portion of his first soliloquy and then - out of nowhere - he is dead-pan hilarious. He is excruciatingly pained. He is as mad as a box of frogs. You do see a glimpse of his Moriarty in his madness as Hamlet, but you love that. It makes it all the more exciting and threatening (and, at times, laugh-out-loud funny) - because that's what he is so damn good at. He is, really, a thoroughly unlikable character, but what shines through is the humanity Scott gives him. You forgot he is a prince, once heir to the throne. He is a human - and this is my favourite aspect of this production. Never once do you feel that 'you are watching SHAKESPEARE', or more specifically, 'you are watching HAMLET'. It is simply, 'you are watching a play'. And what a play it is! When Scott delivers his many soliloquies, you never feel he is talking AT you. It's always TO you, like your favourite teacher or lecturer, giving you another of your favourite lessons. Favourite because you hang off every word, you are scared to even cough or blink should you miss a hand gesture, a raised eyebrow, a hilarious turn of phrase or a devastating realisation.

It's also wonderfully directed, with a great use of modern technology in my opinion, and some wonderful choices to bring the text bang up to date - without having to change a word.
It's accessible, yes, but never once dumbed-down. A deafening reception from the young audience, all granted free entry thanks to the Almedia and Hamlet For Free, greeted the brilliant cast on their arrival for their bow. An unmissable production.

Yes for this production probably the back would have been better, I think the stage was bought forward a bit for this production, several of the ends of the side rows have gone/seats didn't actually fold down due to the projecting stage - I sat at the other far side for Oresteia and it was fine. For me suspect the other side would have been better as more of the actors I wanted to watch seem to face that one when doing a one on one speech. Another time perhaps theatremonkey though in my head I imagine everyone looks like their pictures so in that case you're probably safe from me ever spotting you

Definitely N7 rather than the upper circle. Seatplan.com has a photo from the seat - seatplan.com/london/harold-pinter-theatre/#seat-14840/ - you can see the pillar on the left of the photo. Cuts off the extreme side of the stage but move your head and you have no problem.

The excellent Irish actress Derbhle Crotty is taking over from Juliet Stevenson as Gertrude from 4 July.

I had noticed and wondered why Elliot Barnes-Worell was no longer in this production for the transfer.
Almeida website now confirms he will be in Against at the Almeida with Ben Wishaw.
How tough will have been the decision? To stay or not to stay?

I think staying in a near 4hr play over the whole of the summer, or a short play and short run with Wishaw would have been a no brainier to him.

The cast must be bored already sitting backstage in Hamlet.

I agree, I thought both were weak points - I saw a preview and thought maybe they'd improve but judging by comments I've read it doesn't sound like it. I don't like criticising individuals but when you've got leads as powerful as Andrew Scott and Juliet Stevenson it's a shame and they were one of the reasons I found the production uneven.

To be fair, if you've seen one JS performance you've seen them all

It's wonderful, one of the best Hamlets I've seen, original and deeply affecting. But I didn't see it at the Almeida, so can't compare.

Yes, I think it nails it - he was spellbinding and Ophelia moved me to tears, some five star performances in there, but maybe a three star production as a whole (that 'stars' thing's very clunky, though - always reminds me of junior school!)

I'm wanting to see the matinee of it tommorow but will not be able to day seat and wanted to get good or hopefully front row seats as I had not great ones at the almeida and was wondering if anyon knew how easy it is to get the under £30 for under 30s tickets and where about are they in the theatre or if they may have day seats left but know there are rush tickets but am not putting hope into getting the,
Thanks Rob
ps-does anyone know maybe the actual phone number to contact that heater as i just ended up speaking to someone from atg which wasn't as helpful