Rainbow Shakespeare's Hamlet

Each week I scan the theatre listings in Time Out to see if there's a new version of Hamlet that I need to see. Last year seems to have been Hamlet's year here in London with 5 or 6 different productions. This year we've had squat. Until now…

Way in the back of the T.O. listing, behind the West End releases, beyond the Off West End shows, all the way down in the Fringe section, a version of Hamlet was being performed in the park in Greenwich. With the smaller fringe theatres you never quite know what you're going to get, but it's in the park, we could bring a picnic, it should be fun.

Tiff and I raced off Saturday afternoon to catch the evening show. Traffic was horrible, we were insanely late, and once at the park we did a panicked grand tour before we found the open air theatre tucked away amongst the trees. We stumbled in just after the ghost made his first appearance, and plopped down on our coats on the soggy ground. Then the rain started.

The clouds had been threatening all afternoon, but we figured this would add to the moodiness of the play. It turns out the setting and the weather were the best things about the show. We got wet, we got cold, the brave audience was spread out on blankets with picnic lunches. The rain fell down through the trees, and birds chirped away adding to the atmosphere of dark and dreary Denmark.

The play was fine. Because we were outside in the park, it's a casual setting to perform in, they aimed the production for some laughs. Polonius was typically bumbling, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern were silly. Unfortunately, once you establish a light mood, it's difficult for poor Ophelia to be so tragic, or Ham to become fierce and vengeful without raising some titters from the crowd. Plus people had to laugh when the rain just kept coming down, and actors started slipping on stage, and dying melodramatically.

There were some nice touches. When Hamlet finally sees his father's ghost, the figure appears way over on the other side of a field, dressed in full armour. This was cool. When the space was used to it's fullest, the play just about took off. Just about. Another good bit came right at the end when everyone's busy laying around being dead. Young Fortinbras enters to claim the throne. He tears down the Danish flags hanging around, and takes the crown off the deceased Claudius to place on his own head. I hadn't seen that before, I enjoyed that.

But, it was what it was. It's a tough one to pull off properly. Despite (or because of) the conditions, we all a good time. The audience brushed themselves off and dispersed into the park. Tiff and I walked back to the car, and had the heater on full blast in order to dry out all the way home.

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