Hiraeth's raw, unpretentious Hamlet at Riverside Studios

By Sophia Longhi

Hiraeth Artistic Productions are fast gaining an unapologetic reputation for bold, innovative and original theatre. Their production of Titus Andronicus, shown at the Edinburgh Fringe, was set in the extreme world of skinheads and Doc Martins in 1980s London and provided a daring and contemporary take on Shakespeare, receiving five star reviews and critical acclaim. Now, Hireath founder, Zoe Ford, bravely takes on Shakespeare's giant: Hamlet. What can Ford bring to the most performed Shakespearian play in the world in order for the audience to leave thinking, 'I have never seen anything like that before?' Now, that is the question.

Transported from the Kingdom of Denmark to Her Majesty's Prison in Liverpool, Ford has prised the Shakespearian conventions apart and strips the audience (and the actors) free from their realms of comfort. In contrast to what seems natural, we hear Shakespeare's language in the Liverpudlian accent and, for the first few minutes, the words struggle against the grain - the ears of the audience taking a moment to adjust. Then, the sounds begin to marry and, bizarrely, Shakespeare in Scouse starts to sound like the most natural thing in the world.

Hearing the famous lines of Hamlet in an accent we can recognise as something from our modern day lives has a spectacular effect, and one might feel that it actually makes Shakespeare more accessible. It is to the credit of the actors and their excellent, natural delivery of the lines, that allows the audience to connect with Shakespearian language in a way that might otherwise be blocked by Thespian pretentiousness.

While the accent choice helps to bring this play into the 21st century to a wider-ranging audience, so does the raw, dynamic energy of the young and brilliant cast. Adam Lawrence as Hamlet, exudes a dominant energy that can change the atmosphere on stage immediately and he visibly brims with the compressed and explosive angst that drives Hamlet to the edge of insanity. Christopher York and Nathan Whitfield as Rosencrantz and Guildenstern also shine with stage presence and are compelling to watch.

With innovative stage design and lighting and some brave choices of direction, Zoe Ford's Hamlet has many triumphs to celebrate, but the successful modernisation of a Shakespearian classic without butchering the language must come top of the list. Comparable with what Baz Luhrmann achieved with Romeo and Juliet, Hiraeth's production of Hamlet has the potential to bring Shakepeare to the masses in a fresh and contemporary way that obliterates the dust that can settle all too easily on traditional Shakespeare productions.

Until June 22nd at Riverside Studios, Hammersmith. Click for tickets.

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