Review: The Play’s The Thing: A One-Person Hamlet, Wilton’s Music Hall

Please understand I am not claiming psychic powers when I say I know what you’re thinking. But I do. Hamlet? Again? Christ! Really? Don’t feel bad. It’s a perfectly sensible response. Beloved by actors, the Prince of Denmark surely, for us mere mortals, is less an endlessly fascinating tortured soul and more an old theatrical warhorse dragged out far too often.

But hang on. It’s worth resisting that knee-jerk response. There’s another, perhaps inconvenient truth that’s hard to ignore: Hamlet is a very good play. A very, very good play. Some would even say the best play of all.

With this in mind, skilful adapter and director Fiona Laird and heroic solo cast member Mark Lockyer are to be congratulated for presenting the Bard’s best in such audience-pleasing style. With The Play’s The Thing: A One Person Hamlet, they have created an immensely accessible, clear, impactful version of one of the greatest stories ever told. They do it without fuss or fanfare. It is all so wonderfully simple, making you wonder why everyone makes such a fuss elsewhere.

Mark Lockyer is immensely likeable, and there’s no hint of pretension about his performance. He is loose-limbed and playful throughout, keeping us on track with committed, energetic enthusiasm. We know who is who and what is happening, even if character definition gets a little woolly occasionally. Stressing about technique, though, misses the point of the evening. The text remains pin-sharp and easy on the ear. All the great lines are here, from There are more things in heaven and earth… through Alas, poor Yorick… to Goodnight sweet prince. The fact that everything feels present and correct is remarkable, as this is a gutted Hamlet, filleted to an audience-friendly 100 minutes. Laird deserves every accolade for wielding the surgeon’s knife so effectively. The condensed story still makes complete sense; even Hamlet’s ridiculously convenient pirate rescue fits.

Laird’s direction is functional and understated. We’re thankfully spared an intrusive concept or clumsy attempt at modern relevance. This is the very definition of a minimalist, old-school Hamlet.  Dressed in simple black with no props or set to speak of, Lockyer relies on us leaning in, using our imaginations and meeting him halfway. He strides about the stage manfully when required, and there’s some deft fencing in the finale, but overall, perhaps inevitably, the action feels pretty static. I’d have loved to have felt like we were more in Elsinore – would a few token stairs to climb or a real arras to hide behind be too much of an ask? 

A comedic take on Polonius is one of the production’s best decisions. Giving the ghost of Hamlet senior a Batman-like growl is another. Lighter moments land better than more tortured, angst-ridden ones. Lockyer’s likeability makes watching Hamlet catch a skull tossed to him by the gravedigger easier than watching him rage against Laertes at Ophelia’s graveside. The fact that Lockyer leaves the stage with a Morecambe & Wise skip at the close perhaps shows us he’s an entertainer at heart, and you’ll never catch me complaining about someone wanting their audience to have a good time. 

Talking of audiences, if I was right about your thoughts and you do feel hesitant about seeing yet another Hamlet, this version makes a worthy argument for parking your prejudices. Enjoying a run at Wilton’s Music Hall before heading out on tour, it is likely to charm you into submission and remind you why a 400-year-old play about a prince who can’t make up his mind endures.

Written by: William Shakespeare
Editor & Director: Fiona Laird
Design by: Anthony Lamble
Lighting Design by: Tim Mitchell

The Play’s The Thing: A One-Person Hamlet plays at Wilton’s Music Hall until Saturday 12 April.