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HAMLET, by William Shakespeare, directed by Michael Hurst, Maidment Theatre (to June 14).
by Frances Edmond

The lights go down and with sound and fury the play erupts onto the stage in a thrillingly theatrical opening--swirling torches, booming sound, terrified guards transfixed by light, as the restless ghost of old Hamlet walks the battlements. So begins Michael Hurst's modern-dress production.

On a majestic black set by John Verryt, Hurst holds the centre. In a contained yet mercurial performance, he goes inside the man, portraying a Hamlet who knows himself and his failures and is as wearied by them as he is wracked by them. His frustration bursts into angry accusations against those he loves--Gertrude (Elizabeth Hawthorne) and Ophelia (Anna Hewlett); the scene with Gertrude where love and need tears them both apart is compelling theatre. There's plenty of humour, too, for instance, in his cynical contempt towards Rosencrantz (Jason Hoyte) and Guildenstern (Jonathan Brugh).

The cutting of the Fortinbras story meant the loss of a political dimension, which was compounded by an uncentered and often unintelligible performance from Ray Trickitt as Claudius. Thus, the power balance between Hamlet and the court was out of kilter. Cellphones and rock music didn't add anything, either. However, David Aston delivers a smooth, ministerial Polonius (and a delightfully camp Osric). Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, played as a pair of paid hoods, are a fine comic duo, and Ophelia, at the conclusion of her mad scene, is electrifying.

The grand scale of the production is fitting and the last scene, the sword fight and death of Hamlet, is magnificent. Paul Barnett's (Horatio) exquisite delivery of the final lines: "And flights of angels sing thee to thy rest" is a moving conclusion to one of the great plays.

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