Theatre 2
Hamlet (Bristol Old Vic)
Power play
Christopher Edwards
This is an excellent production of Hamlet from the Bristol Old Vic, under the direction of Paul Unwin. The director and his designer Bunny Christie have set the play in turn-of-the-century Europe, thus giving us frock coats, a gramophone and the odd bicycle for Fortinbras's troops. Elsinore is a palace of claustrophobically close white walls and numerous doors. All this is handled with a light touch, without drawing attention away from the play.
The production has several virtues, not least the way the political context is so lucidly set up. We have a strong sense of the military threats to Denmark and the roles being played by Norway and young Fortinbras. For once, the toing and froing of ambassadors, the ancient claims of rival kingdoms, the significance of Hamlet's father's military achievements — all these details unfold very clearly.
At the start we see an oil painting of Hamlet's late father being removed by the courtiers — it leaves behind a dust print on the wall. (In this way even the palace furni- ture manages to remind Hamlet about his vow of revenge.) As the production pro- gresses we catch sight of a partially finished portrait of Hamlet's usurping uncle Claudius, now King. The earlier picture is both smaller and more distinguished than its megalomaniacal successor — not quite Hyperion to Claudius's satyr perhaps, but a neat visual reminder of Claudius's desper- ate need for legitimacy. lain Glen plays the Prince. Our first encounter with Hamlet shows him bottled up with rage and grief, and his first solilo- quy is full of histrionics as these feelings break loose. Glen gives a gripping perfor- mance. The self-dramatising side of the character is tapped to the full by this tal- ented actor. Indeed, the consciously the- atrical elements of the play are almost made a governing conceit in the produc- tion. The stage itself is presented to us within a gilt frame. And for the play within the play, Claudius and Gertrude are seated on a curtained platform. My only reserva- tion about Glen is his occasional lapse into a little-boy-lost voice. Is this supposed to demonstrate the callowness of the Prince — his being overwhelmed by the responsi- bility laid on him by the Ghost of his father? Or is it just an affectation of his speech? I found it more irritating than illu- minating.
Bernard Gallagher's Polonius convinc- ingly eschews the old booby interpretation without losing the humour of the role. His Polonius is a strict father, fussy but respect- ed by all save Hamlet himself. Hugh Ross (an actor who grows in stature each time I see him) invests Claudius with a fine sense of hunted dignity. Ophelia is movingly played by Claire Hacket. The madness scene, so often an excuse for over-the-top hysterics, is underplayed but is all the more effective because of it. At the sight of her 'Colin, Trish, Lucy, the Devil you know, Amanda, Brian . . . second entrance we. become absorbed in the helpless grief of Laertes (James Purefoy) at the spectacle of his mad sister. Throughout the production Paul Unwin's sense of pace and positioning of actors ensure that the verse does the work. I have only a couple of cavils. Fortinbras's sol- diers, in their white trench-coats and German helmets, are allowed to make their presence felt too heavily. If this is only debatably true about their first appearance, there is no escaping the melodramatic clumsiness of their arrival at the close. The completed portrait of Claudius is disman- tled from the rear and Fortinbras makes his noisy entrance through the empty frame. This big bang of an ending jars with the cool self-assurance so evident in the rest of this fine production.
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