Programme
This is a clever and witty re-interpretation of "Hamlet" in which the main protagonists of the original play are, effectively, relegated to background characters whilst two of the background characters become our new heroes (albeit that they are anything but heroic). It is a comedy about death and philosophy - two things that our inept and easily confused heroes have a rather tenuous grap of. It is a very wordy play in which the two titular characters are on the stage together virtually the whole time, and much of that time alone. The story of Hamlet - whose royal father was murdered by his uncle who then married his mother and usurped Hamlet's succession to the throne - unfolds in the background with various other characters, including Hamlet himself, wandering in and out of the scene delivering snippets of the original story. But when our heroes are alone they pass the time playing question and answer games and waxing lyrical on topics ranging from the law of probability through the endless tossing of a coin to contemplating the meaning of eternity - "Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?"
The set is a very simple affair for the first act, just a simple black backdrop with three doors through which other characters enter and leave. For the second act there is a raised stage for the poop deck of the ship on which are stacked a number of crates out of which various characters emerge. Will Rastall and Tom Bailey, as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern respectively, both excellently capture the drollery of their characters and their essential helplessness to control, or even understand, the events that are taking place around them. Also worthy of mention was Barry Green for a very funny impersonation of The Player (the leader of the actors).
Overall it is an interesting play, very heavy on dialogue which ranges from the witty to the very funny, with occasional side-trips into the downright bizarre. Don't expect a laugh a minute, but if you like your comedy gentle and intelligent, this is a play for you.
An interesting and, at times, very funny alternative take on the Hamlet story seen through the eyes of two of it's minor characters.
Don Gillan - www.stagebeauty.net
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