Hamlet

Brighton University promise a version of Hamlet stripped down to the essentials. This equates to a bare stage and some ill-advised PowerPoint animation. Setting it just after the First World War means our hero wears a tuxedo and carries a sword! You don’t see that in Downton Abbey. However, we can forgive him this sartorial lapse, as we are blessed with a talented lead actor who runs the emotional gamut convincingly which lifts proceedings above the mediocre. The director really should direct the weaker cast members. Eponymous he may be, but Hamlet can’t be expected to do all the work.

Marlborough Theatre, 28 April 2014

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