A radio play for the theatre? Just close your eyes and imagine the scenes in Hamlet by William Shakespeare and you have some idea of what the audience at the West Yorkshire Playhouse experienced in this production of the play. Director Ian Brown has to be congratulated in getting Angela Davies to design such a nondescript stage set that does not detract from Shakespeare’s beautiful words. This once used set must be one of the most boring pieces of scenery ever produced for the theatre — twelve doors with a walkway above, which has no resemblance to the castle it represents. Throw in actors dressed in 1920’s clothes and let them utter speeches on an empty stage and what have you got? An interesting dilemma for an unsuspecting audience.

After scene one, where three characters supposedly speaking English try to set the scene, Christopher Eccleston takes to the stage and proceeds to deliver his speeches. Christopher Eccleston has his fans in the audience and they strain to here every word that he speaks in his interpretation of the main character Hamlet. Sometimes he is serious, at others he is well into his comedy routine. Then we get a film of Hamlet’s father's murder — that takes up a bit of time without reason. Most of the time unneeded smoke drifts across the stage and into the auditorium and sets the audience coughing, this is supposedly to set the atmosphere for the outdoor scenes. The cast work hard with Shakespeare’s words with Kevin McMonagle as Polonious worth a mention. The sword fight arranged by Terry King was convincing, but you always finish up with lots of bodies in this play. Even Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are reported dead.

All this brings us to one question “Should you mess about with Shakespeare?“ When you move the time frame and finish up with lines about a “doublet” perhaps someone might realise it does not work unless you rewrite it. Rewrite Shakespeare!

Eccleston deserved his applause at the end for the effort he put into the part, but one comment made by a theatre goer best sums up the play, “It was like a comedy”. No need to put this production on the stage, it would have been just right for a radio broadcast. Try it and make your own mind up. © BA

“Hamlet” is in Leeds from the 25th October to the 30th November, 2002.