Andrew Scott's Hamlet (Almeida)

It was a nice, relaxed little chat between Andy and Rob (gosh, he's young! Or looks it anyway). Was pleased to hear it'll be somewhere online to watch/ listen to again as I couldn't hear lots of it due to 1. AS & RI speaking too softly and 2. Tons of giggling girls (yes, it was 90% women under 25 I'd say) finding every.little.thing. so hilarious. 
Bits I did hear were; AS chose Judy over Richard, Fergie is his favourite royal and they looked at doing The Glass Menagerie before deciding on Hamlet. 

Amazing news! I only hope they wouldn't dare to cut it like they did with PPGW last year (which, sadly, lost a LOT of charm).

The BBC2 broadcast is fabulous news!

Ah I accompanied viserys because I'm a noble friend haha in fairness I didn't object to it more find it all a bit ....meh. As I do The 'Batch himself now.

I think Cumberbatch is finding himself more pigeon-holed the longer he's around, and I'd like to see him return to the lighter stuff he used to do, 'cos he was probably better at that than he is at being an emotionless brainiac to be honest.

I think what we need is an on-screen embodiment of Martin Crieff from Cabin Pressure and all will be well in my Cumber-World again. I have zero interest in superhero movies so I haven't bothered with Dr Strange, but I have fond memories of a world where Cumberbatch was in good stuff so I hold out hope for the future...

And yes, he wasn't Freeman's Dick, so there's that. (For the record worst night of Shakespeare I've had the mispleasure of in about a decade, thanks Freeman and Lloyd)

Can you imagine it?
Cumbers up a tree with a stuffed sheep?
I would hope for an appearance by ze polar bearz expert. ☺

I saw this again on Friday, and really, well 'enjoyed' isn't probably the best description given it's a fairly brutal Hamlet, but appreciated maybe, just how good the production is again.

Firstly seeing it from non-restricted seats (well small pillar) rather than from 'above' was great to take in the full panorama of the set- I hadn't been able to appreciate the use of the depth of the stage before but it was I think 'elegantly' staged is a nice way to put it. Also I got to take in the use of video properly, and while at times I get a bit video-fatigued particularly in contemporary Shakespeares it works well here.

The cast were as good as remembered overall, though I have to admit Derbhle Crotty wasn't quite up there as Gertrude for me. Not terrible but not quite up there with the rest. Angus Wright I enjoyed even more as Claudius and I seem to remember someone making a comment about you can see why she'd run off with him, which I think is fair- not looks wise just more a demeanour of a powerful magnetic man you can see Gertrude would be drawn to.

Of course Andrew Scott is the stand out, there's not a great deal new to be said. His soft-spoken nature against the outbursts of rage and grief really give a sense of the man on the edge. The manner he delivers many of the speeches is of a man who the words are just occurring to or that he's living rather than someone giving their best Hamlet speech, which is of course what everyone should be doing. But he has a magical air to him about them that's so engaging.

What I find most compelling about Icke's direction, of Hamlet himself in particular is the sense of...I'm not even sure how to describe it, a lurching raw grief that manifests in anger. But also with a sense of underlying anxiety that's a part of Hamlet's character. It's a less known manifestation of anxiety as a condition that it manifests in anger, but I really got a sense of that (brought out by grief) in this Hamlet, which really adds an element for me (I'm probably projecting something onto it but then hey isn't that also the point). Short version, this is a Hamlet I genuinely believe to be really messed up by the death of his Father and struggling to cope with the rest of life being thrown at him.

The ending is more brutal than I remembered, and brilliantly powerful for it.