Hamlet at Lowry Theatre
Reviewed by Andrew Marsden January 2018
Out of all of Shakespeare’s plays, Hamlet is both the longest and the most famous. For actors the title role is one of the biggest parts to perform, in terms of lines to learn and the role’s status as one of the most iconic in the English theatrical tradition.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s latest staging of the show is currently on tour, following a well-received production last year. But how can a play such as Hamlet, so often quoted and staged numerous times, be made to feel fresh? This production, directed by Simon Godwin, goes some way to reinterpreting the play and is, for the most part, successful in this endeavour.
Recent years have seen the role of Hamlet played by critically adored actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch and Tom Hiddleston, while Manchester’s Royal Exchange Theatre shook things up by giving audiences a female Hamlet in the talented form of Maxine Peake.