There is no doubt that Shakespeare penned some of the finest comedies known to man but Hamlet wasn’t one of them… until now.
Admittedly the Dane has received some comic twists in the past (most notably Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead and Hamlet! The Musical, both Fringe favourites) but Roger Westberg’s solo production still manages to be original and finds itself up there with the best.
As in previous comic versions, Westberg has discarded most of Shakespeare’s prose in favour of his own, modern interpretation of the dialogue but this plays second fiddle to the physical aspect of his play. Foregoing any sort of prop, the rubber faced Swede flits seamlessly from character to character and manages to recreate the entire Danish court with little more than his sheer comic skill. Admittedly the gravitas of Shakespeare’s original script is lost in his often-hilarious interpretation but then the audience didn’t pay to see a full-blown RSC epic.
Hamlet – A Stand Up might be a little confusing to those who didn’t know the story of the Dane but to those in the know it proves to be a highly amusing and extremely entertaining take on tragedy.
4/5
Richard Biggs
