Hamlet - Theatre Royal Windsor (Ian McKellen)

Trying to work out a way of having an old Hamlet..maybe a flashback and he doesn’t die but lives on under the thumb of Fortinbras. Or ghosts of many Hamlets - will Ian play his father ?- telling the story. Or transposed into a care home, very appropriate post COVID., like they put Julius Caesar into a women’s prison. Yes, the drama group of a care home, I like that idea. 😁 many tensions played out.

No I didn't. Thought it was pretentious and a waste of talent. It wasn’t so much a setting though was it, as with the prison, it was a distortion imo.

It wasn’t a setting, no, the setting was inside Hamlet’s head.

Anyone heard any news about this one? They started rehearsals at the end of June and it’s all gone quiet since.

At least she’s got the lead in The Cherry Orchard.

So, will she be Hamlet’s Dad? She was Gertrude to Ralph Fiennes wasn’t she?

It truly does. McKellan wobbling round being an old ham, Jenny Seagrove saying every line like she’s reading the radio times listings. No no no.

Booked both, with the cheapest membership price was comparable to a mid price West End production and gives a good reason to visit the delightful Theatre Royal Windsor and the surrounding area again.

Steven Berkoff ! How the mighty are fallen. I wonder if we'll hear from him afterwards about this curious production. For me the main potential problem in the whole enterprise is that Sean Matthias is a really mediocre director. When McKellen played King Lear in the Trevor Nunn production he was really bothered about what Matthias would think about that production. I mean, who cares ?

I don't know if anyone has got to see this yet, but it was interesting.

Good Covid-19 awareness from the venue and social distancing in place.

The on-stage seats are really uncomfortable! But there is an interesting view.

It is all fairly minimalistic. Largely empty stage with a raised metal structure on which some of the action takes place. Modern clothing. Sir Iain runs through lots of different pairs of designer trainers during the performance. The performances on the upper level are not really visible from the on-stage seating, but the sound is good.

Running time is slightly over three hours (with interval).

I'm not too sure what I thought about it. A lot of this is traditional. No unnecessary guns or anything alarming like that. Lots of Sir Iain in his pyjamas. It is quite easy to suspend disbelief at the casting. But some of it is also quite bizarre, like a scene being delivered in a barber's chair.

When I was leaving, I heard people raving about it and also people staying quiet. I think that sums everything up. But it is certainly a unique performance that you won't see everyday, in a lovely theatre that is easily accessible from London (timed very well for the trains back from either of the two local stations).

I am a bit surprised by these reviews. I assumed there would be some concept or framing device which would "explain" the fact Hamlet was very old, but it seems not, just a standard production which doesn't acknowledge the fact at all ? This means this production far from being "modern" or "edgy" is in fact just very very old fashioned. It was common for actors who were far too old to play the part right through the Victorian and Edwardian periods and even up to about 1950. And for the same reason: to treat the play as simply a vehicle for a star actor.