Review: ALT B: Hamlet, A 70s Tragedy, Bush Theatre

To be or not to be in a cult? That is the question being asked this Refugee Week at the Bush Theatre Studio. The young, female-led Fracassantes Collective partnered with social enterprise Compass Collective, sees Hamlet (Lydia Fitzwilliams) grapple with the ‘murder most foul’ of her Divine leader father (Magnus Rook).

Rook’s ghostly omnipresence strikes the fear of God into the female ensemble of zealots; a far cry from Shakespeare’s original, male-dominated Danish court. Character names and plotlines remain familiar whilst text support from Bertie Taylor-Smith and Nicola Blair’s crochet costume design mould this Jacobean tragedy to a landscape The Wicker Man would feel at home in.

This re-siting of Hamlet is an inspired move and enables the play’s original hysteria to be expressed through ecstatic rituals, as seen in the opening folk chorus with a percussive, hyperventilating motif.

Fitzwilliams maintains a clear arc from stability to insanity, with her early commanding scenes contrasting well to the nymph-like worshippers that surround her. Also grounded is the now matriarchal Polonius (Rẹmi Shorunke-Samuel) who finds humorous asides when being mistaken for a fishmonger. Gertrude (Lizzie Lister), however, Hamlet’s original matriarch, feels too young and sassy for a stately and villainous queen.

At 90 minutes in length, heavy edits ensure the play bounces along, though development in Hamlet’s relationship with Ophelia (Charly Faye) gets swept away in the brevity. Faye captures the anxious attachment of Ophelia but misses the initial romantic buzz that first brings the lovers together. Their relationship is also widely accepted in the commune, which does conflict with the general condemnation of same-sex love in strict sects (even during the permissive 1970s society).

The Players bring a strong sense of community through Hamlet’s revenge play, where Lead Player Amber Frances relishes the melodrama with amusing eye pops and grimaces, whilst murderous Claudius (Leonardo Shaw) squirms his way to a swift exit as his rotten deeds are laid bare before him.

Hamlet bursts back in with renewed frenzy, displaying ‘a noble mind o’erthrown’, which leads to an anachronistic sword fight against her comrade Laertes (Lula Marsh). A hands-on or gun fight would have better suited the 1970s setting; however, the ensuing bloodbath poisoning draws the perfect reference to the infamous 1978 Jim Jones ‘Kool-Aid Massacre’, leaving this adaptation on a fittingly grisly conclusion.

Taking classic to cult has both historical and dramatic merit, and with further research, there is still ‘something rotten’ in the state of the church yet to be unearthed.

Full cast: Lydia Fitzwilliams, Charly Faye, Leonardo Shaw, Lizzie Lister, Ausette Anderies, Lula Marsh, Rẹmi Shorunke-Samuel, Naheema Shafau, Goda Liutkute, Magnus Rook, Florence Overton, Maddy Biggs, Amber Frances

Adapted and Directed by Robyn Faye
Musical Direction and Composition by Lizzie Lester
Fight Direction by Lydia Fitzwilliams
Text Support by Bertie Taylor-Smith
Intimacy Co-ordination by Pia Rickman
Costume Design by Nicola Blair
Produced by Charly Faye for Compass Collective

ALT B: Hamlet, A 70s Tragedy has completed its run at Bush Theatre