15 March 2025

Hamlet at The Royal Shakespeare Company

When a countdown to tragedy flashes at every scene change, you expect a rise in everyone’s stakes, to use the theatrical term. Trapped on a sinking ship Elsinore, the Danes of the court focus so strongly on their own personal problems that they fail to take in the full tragedy sinking around them. At each scene change, ensemble members’ anxiety heightens, from concern early on, to panic by the end. The tilting stage lends to the figurative and literal imbalance happening in the play, further upending the physical space with each scene. Through it all, Hamlet (Luke Thallon) broods in much a familiar manner. A tough role to step into, he endeavored to breathe new life into Hamlet, though sometimes to the detriment of a line, taking some rather dramatic pauses at odd moments. Unhurried by the tragedy surrounding him, he drew out moments that could have clipped more, though perhaps the goal was a contrast to the chaos as it unfolded. Jared Harris’ Claudius was almost nonchalant at times, ebbing and flowing in and out of his scenes, confident in his new role and wife. This shifted in the final scene when he became almost like a caged tiger, caught at the bow of the sinking ship with nowhere to go and no weapon as Hamlet advances. Poor Ophelia (Nia Towle) barely got a chance to be known – a fate for many of Shakespeare’s female characters. She roamed the ship, seemingly with no purpose but to hover at her father’s side and make side long glances at Hamlet. There was one sweet family moment with Ophelia, Polonius (Elliot Levey), and Laertes (Lewis Shepherd) as Laertes prepared to leave (apparently you can just take a lifeboat or tender out from Elsinore? Maybe the ship is closer to land than we think…) Polonius’ advice was received as if it weren’t the first time he’d given it; Ophelia and Laertes even joined in at the end. He’s a flatterer, a groveling courtier, but he also gave lightness and humor to his character and showed a real fatherly side in this moment. His tender moment with Ophelia, pretending to break an egg over her head, returned for a tragic refusal before her setup encounter with Hamlet, signaling an end to that form of their father/daughter relationship. Polonius the courtier had won over Polonius the father. Some may wonder, how do grave diggers discover the skull of Yorick on a ship? The famous skull appeared in the suitcase of the Player (Anton Lesser) who happens to be trying to disembark (or jump?) upon Hamlet’s return to the sinking Elsinore. The grave digger dialogue rather included the Player and a sailor preparing Ophelia’s body for a sea burial, an ode to the start of the play with Old Hamlet’s body being sent over the side. Additional odd breaks in the world included the use of a gun to kill Polonius and a gory show of the blood that follows, but traditional foils for the final duel, no blood in sight. The duel was the final refusal to see the end. Or meeting it, perhaps? As each person died (save Claudius) they all dramatically slid down the deck a la Titanic. Claudius fights to save himself to the very end, holding on at the highest point and rail until the last. Hamlet slits his throat, leaving his body leaning against the rail pointing to the sky. As Hamlet dies, rather than sliding down like all the rest, he stands and slowly starts walking down the steep deck, accepting his fate and the tragedy at last.

NOTE: Thoughts and reflections of a professor and practitioner; they are my own opinions and, as with art, you don’t have to like or agree with them.

~Katelyn Spurgin