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The Review - THEATRE by TOM FOOT
Published: 24 April 2008

Dancing Hamlet is a ghost of the original

HAMLET
Sadler's Wells

“WORDS, words, words.” Hamlet’s famous quip was seen but not heard in this modern dance adaptation of Shakespeare’s masterpiece.
The Northern Ballet Theatre Company has made a habit out of recreating Shakespeare’s plays with dance.
But can Hamlet, without the famous soliloquies, really be a winner?
Well, not really. And I get the feeling the company may have realised this, as the bizarre sequence of events that unfolded on stage was a ghost of the original.
Artistic director David Nixon sets the scene in occupied France in the early 1940s. Claudius (Darren Goldsmith) and Laertes (Hirano Takahashi) bash Jews and goose-step.
Huge Nazi drapes hang from the walls. It draws a line between the baddies and the goodies and presumably is a reference to Shakespeare’s “rotten state”.
But in an introspective piece, set entirely within the claustrophobic confines of a castle, and notably distanced from the outside world, this seemed odd.
European politics was not high on Hamlet’s agenda. Ophelia (Georgina May), who rather than committing suicide is raped and killed by evil storm troopers, won spontaneous applause after a mesmerising madness scene. But by straying from the original it was all a bit confusing, and the applause at curtain was a little half-hearted.
But like all good shows I woke up with it stuck in my mind. Hamlet is designed to make you frustrated and uncomfortable.
The jarring and jagged routines from the troupe, led by Hinton-Lewis in the
lead role, perhaps brought the raw torment of the piece across like no theatrical performance could.

Until April 26
CNJ Booking line
0870 040 0070

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