National Theatre Live: Hamlet

"Listen to many, speak to a few." ..

Doubt thou the stars are fire; Doubt that the sun doth move; Doubt truth to be a liar; But never doubt I love."

I LOVE this version of 'Hamlet' for two main reasons:

Cumberbatch was the reason I went for this movie, though I never thought myself to be his fan (I couldn't follow him in 'Holmes' so couldn't really get him). He is just brilliant in this 2015 drama. I particularly was amused by the part when Hamlet taught a professional player on performing, basically not going too dramatic. He himself does execute this: he's got 3 hours to go, and of course he cannot be crying and howling all the time. I was also amazed by how he was able to grasp the essence of the character; how was he able to comprehend the pain of losing one's father, lover and feeling betrayed by his mother and disgusted by the evil uncle who tried to kill him? In the interview part before the drama, he said everyone can start to resonate with Hamlet after some event: the death of a family member, or some other pains. Still, I envy those who cannot feel the pain, for instance, the girl who scrolled on her phone from time to time sitting next to me in the theatre.

The setting and the music. Oh my god merely watching it from big screen was overwhelming; I cannot image how it feels to be watching it live. I was particularly amazed by the floor setting: mostly covered by a carpet but later changed to asphalt floor, where Gertrude and Ophelia stamped on it barefoot (BTW, the actor of Ophelia was my least favorite). The lighting, too, got so dark in the latter part, almost soaks the audience into pains and miseries (but I do love the beam of day light which guides Ophelia to her death; it looks so bright and optimistic but is so short and brief).

Once more a thrilling and intense performance from Cumberbatch. A perfect reincarnation of the master of theater, amazingly performed by an impressively convincing cast. A fantastic immersion from all the actors and for every audience. An absolute must-see for any amateur of Shakespeare.

I just returned from the NTLive "Hamlet" production starring Benedict Cumberbatch. It was an enjoyable experience that I can recommend to any Shakespeare fan. But while it was good, it was not great. Speeches were rearranged, certain words were "updated", and the production was generally too shouty and melodramatic to convey the proper poetry and pensiveness of Shakespeare's text.

There were some good ideas and also some less good ideas, and as a whole the impression was not as professional and tight as are the productions that the Royal Shakespeare Company presides over. The actors made several small mistakes here and there, and it was not always clear whether a changed word was intentional or just misspeaking. Some words were intentionally changed; "yeoman service" had become "faithful service" and "as for my means, I shall husband them" had become "as for my men, I shall marshal them". There were maybe a dozen instances like this (oh yes, I remember one more: when Hamlet talks to his mother, and Shakespeare writes "I the matter will reword, which madness would gambol from", Cumberbatch says "I the matter will repeat, which madness would fly from" - decidedly less literary!), and it doesn't make sense to me to make such minor changes. After all, it's not like there are great numbers of audiences who will suddenly understand the play much better based on about a dozen changed words in a furiously paced three-hour production. To my mind, it's better to retain Shakespeare's words (the text cannot be improved upon, and it's a fool's errand to try), and make audiences wonder about them and perhaps want to look them up, rather than to try with such half-hearted efforts to "help" people understand it more immediately.

One of the best things about the production was the role of the Danish tin soldier that Hamlet took on to demonstrate his madness. He dressed up, played the drum and ensconced himself in a toy castle, which I thought was a great way to bring out his "antic disposition".

But overall, Cumberbatch's acting seemed rather too hot-headed and raving to put across any particularly memorable or sensitive portrayal of the title character. The climactic duel scene was also a bit messy and strange, landing this production on 7 stars out of 10 in my estimation.

As Benedict Cumberbatch takes on the mantle of the Prince of Denmark, does he make a great Dane or a passably good one? That is the question, and as the star turn, he is certainly the brightest thing about this production.

It must be tricky to bring freshness to lines so familiar they have almost become clichéd, but this sweet Prince does his level-headed best, causing hearts to melt at the "Oh, too solid flesh", jumping on tables and shrugging off the slings and arrows of the less enthusiastic reviews.

Director Lyndsey Turner aims to shed new light on Hamlet's soliloquies by having the rest of the cast move in slow motion around him, a device used most effectively at the wedding feast, when Hamlet's regal mother Gertrude (Anastasia Hille) marries his scheming Uncle Claudius (Ciaran Hinds).

All the complex emotions running through Hamlet's mind are voiced in the time it takes the guests to rise from their seats and turn away from him, oblivious to his inner anguish.

The set by Es Devlin is in the style of a sumptuous stately home, dominated by a huge chandelier and grand piano, walls covered in family portraits and an armoury of weapons. A rocking horse, doll's house and other toys lie hidden in the stairwell, mourning an innocence lost, as a grown man must put away childish things.

Faced with his father's ghost and his mother's betrayal of her late husband's memory, Hamlet feigns madness and embraces his inner child, who comes out to play in a scene with toy soldiers and a castle.

The flashes of humour provide welcome light relief from the sense of impending doom which pervades the play, underlined by a musical score which is at times rather heavy-handed. Karl Johnson brings gallows humour to the role of grave digger and Polonius (Jim Norton) cuts a tragi-comic figure destined for an unfortunate end.

Ophelia (Sian Brooke) is highly strung from the start, which lends psychological depth to her subsequent breakdown, but leaves little room for a greater contrast in her moods, with barely a hint of the happier times which had gone before.

She finds comfort only in music, that lightning conductor of emotions, singing sweet songs in the purest tones, and playing a moving piano duet with her volatile-tempered brother Laertes (Kobna Holdbrook-Smith). In a world full of deception, music is the sole form of expression which strikes a true note.

Most of the cast deliver their lines with clarity and conviction, but a few tend to rush their words at times, perhaps aiming to keep within a performance time of three hours, but making their speeches harder to follow. Dismissed by some reviewers as a dumbed-down version, this production changes the order of the original text and may not please the purists.

This is a performance for people who come along to see TV's Sherlock in action, and end up getting what the Bard is all about. This is for families bringing children who have only ever experienced Shakespeare in the confines of a classroom, and are hearing the lines brought to life on stage for the first time.

If making Shakespeare accessible to a wider audience is the main aim, this NT Live production, broadcast live in cinemas worldwide, is certainly a success.