Hamlet

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I had recently come with my friends and teachers to watch the wonderful Hamlet for my AS level exam. 

The directors interpretation was absolutely fantastic. We all enjoyed the production. As drama students since the age of 11 we all tried to understand the interpretation the director was going for. Our minds were literally baffled with confusion and excitement to have seen such a show. 

Great job to all actors and production crew!! 

Hanifa Maiyat

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I came to one of the opening week's evening performances and saw and heard the play as I never had before. The following week i took my wife.   The performances had moved up several notches and she and I were both blown away.  I'm not mad about "concepts" but this one was inspired. Horatio as Hamlet, the sympathetic bystander and Hamlet as his man- of-action father made flesh the lines, "whether tis nobler IN THE MIND to suffer the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune or to take arms against a sea of troubles and, by opposing, end them." The cost of revolt is high in this production and the definition of "madness" is in the hands of the authorities- Claudius and his warders . A play and a production for our times. Thanks to everyone involved

Peter Marinker

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I wanted to add my heartfelt thanks to both the cast and production team for their superb version of this wonderful play. I have a soft spot for the play and have seen several different productions each unique in their own way, but I have never seen such an original thought provoking and impactive version as this production. 

My love of Shakespeare is there despite the introduction as a student to the flat lifeless renditions we are subjected to and I have always believed that his plays were Intended to be delivered in a relevant, accessible manner so it was a joy to see the wonderful delivery and contemporary cadence of this production.

Master of this was Mr Sheen. His performance was mesmerising. I have rarely been so taken by a performance. I have never before been moved to tears by one. It was by far the most powerful performance by an actor I have ever had the privilege to witness. Every detail of Hamlets complex persona was explored and his growing sense of isolation, confusion, angst and heartbreaking loneliness was portrayed in both a powerful yet understated manner. You were drawn into a world of paranoia where you shared in Hamlets thoughts and feelings. There are so many familiar speeches within this play that it can  Seem impossible for the delivery not to seem affected. Not so here, a true testament to both Mr Sheens talent under superb direction. 

The decision to explore a different angle ie the mental institution was inspired, was not gimmicky in the slightest and brought fresh insight into a great masterpiece.

My Sincerest thanks to all involved, this was an experience I will never forget. The Author would be proud. 

AM Manchester uk. 

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Hello :) 
Hamlet has always been my favourite Shakespeare play, and you guys did it justice! Excellent adaption, with twists and turns - the amount of detail was exquisite! 
Michael Sheen was an amazing Hamlet! I learnt so much (being a GCSE drama student) from simply watching him play the eccentric Hamlet, with such raw energy and enthusiasm! The transformation to the ghost was outstanding, it must be hard to do that every night though, because of the power he had behind his voice! An he was flawless, despite holding 60% of the script to himself and "to be or not to be" was jaw-droopingly amazing; fast-paced and slow at certain points and "I loved Ophelia!" that desperate shout brought tears to my eyes. I literally cannot explain how absolutely AMAZING he was. I will remember his performance for a long time. The best play/Shakespeare I have ever seen, and he was the perfect Hamlet :)

Nomi, 15, London

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Please would you tell Michael Sheen that his performance as Hamlet is absolutely extraordinary (and it must be exhausting, because it’s also so physical). I was spellbound for the whole three and some hours, couldn’t have cared less about the late start (we came on 4 Jan) or waiting outside in the rain (after the event) and although I’ve seen Simon Russell Beale and Sam West among others, as Hamlet, Michael Sheen’s performance illuminated Hamlet in a way I’ve never seen before. I truly understood Polonius’s words about the origin of his grief springing from neglected love … (in fact I’d never noticed those lines before but this time they went straight to my heart).
And I don’t think I’ve ever seen Hamlet (or any other Shakespeare play) interpreted so clearly so that the language was never once a barrier but just as it must have been in WS’s time, a fountain of feeling and drama. Obviously all the cast made that so.
Thank you, Young Vic and Ian Rickson for putting on this extraordinary production.

Angela Young
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Fantastic performances from Michael Sheen and Vinette Robinson. Not entirely sure that setting it in a mental hospital adds much though. Perhaps the perambulation beforehand could be more discombobulating. 

Mike Sanders
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Unusual, Unnerving and utterly brilliant. Watching Hamlet (Michael Sheen) teeter on the brink of insanity was compelling Ohpelia (Vinette Robinson) was deeply disturbing and Polonius (Michael Gould) brings a touch of well-timed humour. 

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I thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience (my first experience of Hamlet)

Laura Mendes

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Dear Young Vic

Unfortunately as a result of the technical fault we were only able to attend for the first act as we would have missed our last train home. Excellent first act though! My daughter really enjoyed the experience and came away with numerous ideas to explore for her A level drama.

Many thanks Tracy Dryden-Jones

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I was baffled by some aspects of the production and only when I read the reviews afterwards did I discover that it was intended to be taking place in a psychiatric hospital.

Did you let the critics in on that fact in advance?  Or am I just a bit slow on the uptake?

Stephen

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Hello

We went with my family plus someone that had not seen Shakespeare on the stage, ever . What was I thinking! The longest of his plays and not in the normal garb nor even a Danish setting . We all love it !. Mr. Sheen was fab, how does he do that each night, it beats me. (Horatio as disaster, sorry) and at the end we were exhausted - what a night- thank you, thank you.

yours Kathy

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Hamlet. Micheal Sheen. Stunning!

Simone Ziegert

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It was Shakespeare last night, but with a definite twist.  Director Ian Rickson, Designer Jeremy Herbert and superlative actor Michael Sheen have brought a very different Hamlet to the Young Vic stage and, for me, it works perfectly.  

It’s not often that you enter a theatre by a completely different route, but as soon as the production started, I perfectly understood why it is the case here.  Initially the meandering walk to the auditorium was rather disconcerting and I couldn’t quite work out what was going on.  But that’s presumably the point.  Then the play began and all was revealed.  If no-one has set Hamlet in a present day mental hospital before, one wonders why not, for it actually makes perfect sense and illustrates so well the age old question, is it all in Hamlet’s mind?

Mind you, the whole effect is helped by the fact that Michael Sheen is quite brilliant.  He captures all the mental torment, imbuing the man with warmth, torment, sadness, anger and moments of maniacal laughter, making him totally and utterly believable.  I’ve read that he “is increasingly repulsed by acting”, meaning acting as opposed to reacting and he certainly practices what he preaches.  Another bonus is that he speaks the lines so wonderfully that there were times when I felt the script had been updated;  no need to concentrate to understand the meaning here, everything is perfectly clear.  How lucky are the students studying Hamlet who get the chance to see this production.

I also hugely enjoyed the performances by Vinette Robinson as Ophelia, Michael Gould as Polonius and James Clyde as Claudius, whilst not quite understanding the decision to make Horatio and Rosencrantz female and casting Benedict Wong as Laertes.  For me, it didn’t quite work but, no matter, everything else hit the button and I was captivated as soon as I entered the shabby auditorium, complete with basketball net!  The moments of high drama, surprising technical effects and complete black outs, kept me in that state right to the very end.

No need to compare this version of Hamlet with the recent high profile productions starring Jude Law, David Tenant and Rory Kinnear.  It stands alone.

Kind regards,

Sandy Pritchard-Gordon

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I have seen Hamlet more times than I care to mention and would like to say how much I really enjoyed the production a the Young Vic. When done poorly Hamlet can seem like a lifelong prison sentence but the afternoon flew by and was over before I knew it. All of the cast were excellent although I have to say Michael Sheen's portrayal was both moving and funny by turns. I did have concerns that the setting of the play in a mental instituition would be gimmicky but I thought it worked brilliantly and some of the lines took on new resonance. I had read mixed reviews before I came but after viewing the production would recommend it to anyone - go with an open mind and enjoy. I always say the mark of a good production is how long it stays in the memory and this will be one production I know I will remember for years to come

Thanks for a great afternoon of entertainment!

Jayne Talbot

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I came to Hamlet with my wife and teenage daughter on 15th November. We were all absolutely blown away by Michael Sheen’s performance and would like to congratulate him on  a real tour de force. It will take a huge effort for him to maintain that level of intensity throughout the run, but I hope he can manage it. It was a privilege to see him.

David Stead

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Hamlet is the Shakespeare play that I’m most familiar with. I studied it for GCSE and have seen two films and, before this one, five theatre productions, including one in which a giant tank of water was kept in the middle of the stage (and used to great effect) for the duration of the production. It takes a lot to surprise me when it comes to this play, but Ian Rickson’s Young Vic production managed it.

To get to the auditorium, the audience had to weave their way through the corridors of a psychiatric hospital in the mid 20th century. This set the scene wonderfully. The stage itself was set up like a gymnasium with a backdrop of metal doors that creaked ominously when closed, behind which was a glass office used to great effect during the production.

Michael Sheen himself was a fantastic Hamlet. He’s such a charismatic actor, and his presence dominated the stage whenever he was there. He brought a lot of depth and intelligence to the role and really conveyed Hamlet’s troubled nature. James Clyde as Claudius was also excellent, transformed in this production to the benign yet subtly threatening head of the psychatric institution. His relationship with Gertrude (a good performance by Sally Dexter) was made more interesting because of the setting - was she just his wife, or another inmate? If the latter, then no wonder Hamlet was unimpressed. Polonius is one of my favourite Shakespearean characters, mainly for his amusement value, and Michael Gould played him really well, though his role was ambiguous - was he a psychiatrist, or a fellow patient placated with a special role to amuse him?

Vinette Robinson is probably the best Ophelia I’ve ever seen. I normally find the character very dull and the madness scenes tedious, but not here. The direction was a large factor in this as Ophelia was wheeled on to the stage, confined to a chair in her madness, and hands out pills instead of flowers to Claudius and Gertrude.

Though I know the play well and knew what was coming next, I was continually on the edge of my seat wondering how it was going to be done. The production was inventive throughout, with Polonius speaking his comments on Hamlet’s state of mind into a Dictaphone, Hamlet being possessed by his father’s ghost, and the theatre being plunged into darkness at opportune moments. This is the only production of the play I have seen which left me in serious doubt as to Claudius’ guilt, thanks to clever use of the pane of glass and a switch which allowed the audience to intentionally hear only part of his confessional speech. The second act, which can drag, remained interesting thanks to a massive pit of sand which appeared in the centre of the stage and was used very cleverly. The ending of the play is one which will stay with me for a very long time. It is clearly designed to make you wonder how much of the action takes place only in Hamlet’s mind.

This production of Hamlet has received very mixed reviews, which really surprises me. I just thought it was brilliant. Okay, so it’s not a production I’d recommend if you’ve never seen Hamlet before or don’t know the play at all. However with a play over 400 years old it’s important that there are productions out there that push the boundaries and make you see it in a new light, and that’s exactly what this one does.

Laura Steel

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I saw Hamlet with my husband, 20-year-old son and his girlfriend and we were all absolutely bowled over by it.  

Michael Sheen is just superb - he gave a magnificent, mesmerising performance and is possibly the best Hamlet I'll see in my lifetime.  

I found some elements of the staging a bit gimmicky, but the 20-year-olds really liked it, and it was an interesting concept to set the play in a psychiatric hospital, since madness is such a central theme of the play. And the acting was of such a high standard that it transcended the surroundings anyway.  

Horatio was beautifully played - and the gender switch worked brilliantly. Polonius, too, was excellent, and very funny, and Ophelia's performance was incredibly moving. 

Thank you for putting on such a thrilling Hamlet.

Joanna Symons

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I don't think you would publish my thoughts on Hamlet!

I thought the casting was very odd and  was completely outclassed by Michael Sheen, except for Polonius.

I didn't like the setting of the play, as if it was in a lunatic asylum or the unnecessary walk into the theatre.

It was quite a disappointment to me and my guest.

Sorry......

Regards

Chris Bligh

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The best Hamlet I've seen, I think, at least in the last 20 years! Sheen was absolutely stunning, Ophelia really good as well. (PS: was the actress who played the mother the one who was at one time Frost's sidekick?)

Gayna Walls

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I am an  Italian student of Shakespeare and I would rank your production of Hamlet as one of the best I ever saw

Bernardino Branca, Milan

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Magnificent production. Extraordinary and unforgettable! 

Jennifer Edwards

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I found the combination of voice distortion from the hearing aids I wear with the microphone so unpleasant I took the hearing aids off and had to rely on my memory [from school days] of the play.  I was in the front row and don't know if it would have been better further back?

To me the outstanding performance was Ophelia and I was angry that she was not given a curtain call to herself.

Re Sheen's performance, I was irritated by too many fairly meaningless gestures with one arm and Tony Blair mannerisms; otherwise it was impressive.  The three different ethnic origins of Polonius, Laertes and Ophelia were odd in one family!  But I decided that as a child will accept that a piece of blue material is a lake, so I could accept what was offered in the spirit intended.

Jill Burberry

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A very interesting production and a convincing concept: Hamlet in the Loony bin. Sheen was grandiose, Gertrud initially what the Germans call a convincing "Tussy", gyrating around and after her hubby, who played the nouveau-riche upstart convincingly. The elimination of the rampart scene and its replacement by his father's ghost materializing in his head, was innovative. The mini-inconsistencies noted by some critics (why do the guests have to take their shoes and laces off, but inmates even have access to swords) are bean-counting. To me, theater is not about portraying reality, but in bringing out character-masks.

Kurt Bayer 

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I thought it was a wonderful central performance – the general air of madness and the weight given to the soliloquies - and an interesting production.   I have seen Hamlet as often as possible for many years, so giving me new thoughts on a variety of characters at many points was an achievement. 

Thank you

Marian Donne

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I went to see Hamlet last week with my sister in law who had never seen Shakespeare before and I wish I was there tonight.  I have loved the play since a very mad, chiffony and boundless English teacher introduced it to me in my teens.  Michael Sheen brought such new things to it, his inflections, tone and disposition were thrilling and mesmerising. We drank Guiness in our seats, leant on the rails in utter absorption and roared our approval for the whole production well beyond a seemly appreciation.  Is there any chance it will be recorded and available to the public once the production has wrapped up?  Congrats to the Young Vic and the whole cast.

Verna Prior

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Michael Sheen's performance was, to put it mildly, energetic: such vigour, such stamina.  The rest of the cast proved equally captivating, and convincing, in their characterisations.  

I appreciate Mr Sheen's comments that he chose to play Hamlet in this particular production at the Young Vic in order to attract a younger audience. However, I question the production's setting within a mental institution in these days of high incidence and sensitivities to mental illness generally.  I recently watched on YouTube Sir Laurence Olivier's soliloquy - in 1948 - delivered from the battlements of his castle, with the waves below pounding the walls, and the wind above crashing around his head.  He, with short blonde crop, tights and Mr D'Arcy blouse, took me away from the real world. Although, of course, I realise that 'Hamlet' must move on, this production left me considering the problems of today.

Lynn Clarke

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Hi,

Previously I was not a fan of ‘Hamlet’, in fact, in the past, when Hamlet would begin “To be or not to be ….” I always had the urge to stand up and scream ‘oh for pity’s sake just make up your mind and get on with it!’, of course I never really did that.

Anyway, after seeing ‘Hamlet’ at the Young Vic – I’m now a fan of this play.  I went primarily to catch Michael Sheen, who was fabulous of course, but the whole cast did a superb job.   Thank you for a wonderful evening.  I’ll definitely be back –  when next in London.

Ciao,

Beth, Atlanta GA USA

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Watched Hamlet last night and it is still pleasantly vivid in my memory.  It was bought to the audiences attention that Mr Sheen was not feeling well but wanted to go on with the performance, all I can say is if he can act like that when hes not feeling at his best, I would like to see him when on top form, absolutely mezmorising. I zoned out of the audience many times and felt as if I was alone with Hamlet and his thoughts, this feeling somewhat unnerving when the room was plunged into darkness but added to the tension.

I have seen many adaptations of Hamlet after studying it at A level, this was by far the most mind bending and raised the question of real madness, as much of what happens may be in Hamlets imagination. In all other productions I have seen, Ophelia has always come across as grief stricken and upset but Vinette Robinson gave a disturbing portrayal of much more than grief, it bought tears to my eyes.

An unforgetable evening for me. Thank you

Lynn

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Dear Young Vic,

Thank you so much for a truly outstanding production of Hamlet. From the moment the 'journey' began I knew exactly where we were in time and space. The effort and creativity of transforming the backstage area into an asylum was akin to going to an interactive adventure  and set the scene so perfectly. Congratulations to everyone for making the experience so immersive and frighteningly real.

Michael Sheen will, of course, gain all the credit for his performance and rightly so. He is mesmeric - a lithe and active Hamlet that really does move one to tears with the ferocity and yet pathos in his creation. Like so many reviewers I am astonished at the pace he keeps up - and to think he does this performance after performance. What ever he earns he deserves it - as our greatest actor of this generation. He steals every scene - and yet is generous to his fellows - quite astonishing! 

The rest of the cast were wonderful too - and I do feel that some people have very narrow views of directing/ casting if they cannot stretch to seeing Horatio as a woman or Laertes played by the brilliant Benedict Wong. I am sure that the Bard would have approved...and why NOT play some roles as female?? It was inventive and in keeping with the premise of the asylum. I would mention every actor by name - but all were equally brilliant - it is a truly ensemble piece despite the 'star'. 

Sheen spoke the lines with a modern vibrancy- with lovely reactive pauses and expression...and the passion with which he abused poor Ophelia was electric...indeed there was a clever use of lighting and sound effects throughout.

The crowning glory however was Sheen as Hamlet, his father and Fortinbras - inspired and groundbreaking!

Can we have more of Sheen in the theatre please??

Yours, William Davis (director of the Bushmead Shakespeare Company in Luton)

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Thrilling, absorbing, immediate...and deeply moving, with an ending that reduced me to tears. 

Carolyn Hall