We had a weekend trip to Stratford - to see the long awaited David Tennant Hamlet at the RSC. We stayed at the Melita Hotal - a very nice B&B just the other side of the river - so it was only a 10 minute walk to the theatre.
The RST and Swan are both currently closed for redevelopment work (the main house is in pieces - there is a totally new theatre being built in it's place) - so they performance was at the Courtyard theatre, a semi temporary theatre built next to The Other Place (which is servicing as box office/bar/shop!)
And so - to the play. An excellent production - just what I expect from the RSC. I loved the staging - the mirrors and reflections - especially the torches boucing off the floor in the battlement scene. Patrick Stewart is just born to play kings - perfection - so centred. Oliver Ford Davies' Polonious was excellent - took every ounce of humour the role can provide. David Tennant - what can I say? Unlike many I'm NOT in love with him - but he was mesmerising. I felt the manicness was too much in the early scenes an he was at his weakest here - but once he had met the ghost then it all fell into place for me. He has the most amazing vocal tricks - and on the odd occassion some of these were a bit too familiar for me from repeated exposure in DW - but in general excellent. I'm not a fan of OTT mad Ophelia's generally - but the mad skipping did make sense here as a mirror to DT's madness. I would agree with the 4 star reviews I have since read - I wanted a bit more emotional heart to it - but overall very happy - would love to see it again, will have to put up with Love's Labour's Lost in October instead!
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