Hamlet - Young Vic

[Dave B]

I don't see a thread for this one.

[londonpostie]

I feel compelled to say 'mother of god': Public booking reopened at noon. Get on it!

www.youngvic.org/whats-on/hamlet-cush-jumbo

[cavocado]

This wasn't on my wishlist but somehow I found myself joining the queue and booked a lucky dip £10 ticket.

[NeilVHughes]

Ticket availability was good for the dates I looked at and queue was reasonably quick.

[couldileaveyou]

Same here, I randomly joined the queue and getting a seat was nice and easy. I somehow suspected it was already sold out or that it would have been a nightmarish experience

[ThereWillBeSun]

Uh oh. Just bought a £10 ticket. Not my favourite Shakespeare but thought...Cush Jumbo. Why not.

[NeilVHughes]

£5 tickets for Mon if your quick!

[londonpostie]

Boom! Thanks Neil.

First Preview? Interesting.

[Dave B]

Just got my things to know email prior to tomorrow.

Early start 7pm - and it's listed as 3h30m with one interval

!

[londonpostie]

At the first preview, it was 2 hours 10 min to the break. Kwame Kwei-Armah introduced the evening and explained this was to be their first full run-though.

In those circs, you can only offer general comments. It went well. Felt fully drawn in. A very able Cush Jumbo knows what she wants and delivers a distinct Hamlet. An interesting and confident set.

Of course it needs tightening - I'd like to see it again later in the run - but more than half the house was on its feet at the end and that's not a bad place to be.

[theatrelover123]

Of course it needs tightening - I'd like to see it again later in the run - but more than half the house was on its feet at the end and that's not a bad place to be.

Not bad at all. Unless they were on their feet running for the doors or to get to the toilets Were they applauding at the same time?

[londonpostie]

There may have been a row across the middle of the auditorium where the creative team sat and they may have been first on their feet and some of the audience may have taken their cue from that, I couldn't possibly comment.


It's a fair point on the toilets; with only a 15-minute interval after 2 plus hours, it's just as well toilets formally called 'the Gents' were available for women.

[Jon]

Hamlet's always going to a long evening, the Benedict Cumberbatch production was similar in length as was the Andrew Scott production.

[Dave B]

Lost some time already, out by 10.15 this evening.

First half is too long, there is a notable increase in coughing, moving, fidgeting and noise. Really could do with a split down the middle and maybe a 20 min interval.

Other than that, thoroughly enjoyed it. Cast are superb, on the way in we agreed would happily watch Cush Jumbo read the phonebook and in a funny moment she reads from Heat magazine which is even less engaging than the phonebook... so all was good.

One particularly great moment that I think might have been unintended which I will spoiler just in case...

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler - click to view}
Basically when the gravedigger went to take a second drink, the cap was still on the bottle. He rolled with it and covered nicely but just behind it looked like Cush Jumbo and Jonathan Livingstone came close to losing it. Could well have been intentional but just seemed to get a little more reaction from the cast than other things.

SPOILER: Click to show

[Jan]

Sept 28, 2021 17:56:28 GMT Jon said:

Hamlet's always going to a long evening, the Benedict Cumberbatch production was similar in length as was the Andrew Scott production.

The Andrew Scott one had two intervals I seem to recall ? Not that I really like that personally but it would be useful for some in the audience. Two intervals used to be quite common in the West End years ago, even for standard three act plays like Ibsen for example they'd put two intervals in, sometimes of different lengths - an attempt to increase bar takings maybe. 

[Deleted]

Wasn't this set to stream? I'm not finding anything about how to book.

[Deleted]

Y'know, I scoured that site for a good hour yesterday. Feel a bit like an idiot now. Thank you!

[couldileaveyou]

Watched it tonight and rather liked it. It takes a little while to find its footing, but when it does it gets quite sharp and focused. The second act in particular is very tight, because of both acting/direction and several cuts (eg: the whole Fortinbras sub-plot is gone; no second gravedigger).

Cush Jumbo is a fine Hamlet, at times very funny but constantly on edge. She has a very androgynous look, which can be quite uncanny since at times you have the impression of watching a teenage boy playing the Dane. I think this is something they are consciously going for, especially since Ophelia too is quite teenage looking and they removed the textual clues you can use to figure out Hamlet's age.

There are some very strong supporting performances, especially from Joseph Marcell (Polonius) and Leo Wringer (Leading Player/Gravedigger). The weak link for me was Adrian Dunbar, he gets better in the final couple of scenes in which he plays the calculating politician, but there is very little inner turmoil and he's quite bland in general. This is a pity, especially since he also doubles as the ghost. The interval was poorly placed and it seems to be there only so that Cush Jumbo doesn't have to drag Polonius' body off-stage, they could have put it five minutes later without interrupting the flow of the scene. But on the whole it's pretty pretty good

[londonpostie]

The surprise here for me is Laura Lopez Holden as Ophelia. Not that long out of RADA by the look of it. Great role, of course. but she tucks it under her arm and hares off down The Cut.

[crowblack]

Oct 3, 2021 1:40:38 GMT londonpostie said:

The surprise here for me is Laura Lopez Holden as Ophelia. Not that long out of RADA by the look of it. Great role, of course. but she tucks it under her arm and hares off down The Cut.

She's great - we saw her at the Manchester Royal Exchange in The Almighty Sometimes and in the touring Equus and think she's one to watch! I'm not going to be able to see this in person but looking forward to the livestream. 

[ThereWillBeSun]

I returned a ticket for this Saturday evening!

£10

Should be snapped up but just in case any of my TB buddies was interested x

[Forrest]

I saw this last night with a friend and we both really enjoyed it. 
Cush Jumbo is a terrific Hamlet - she absolutely made the part her own, delivering Shakespeare like it was written yesterday - and the rest of the cast were really good, too, with the exception of Gertrude, who for me lacked any agenda (I couldn't read her at all, and found her utterly empty as a character) and Laertes, who mumbled his way through most of his lines in the second half. The dynamic of the court was really interesting to me - the king (in my mind, so clearly modelled after Trump - did anyone else think this?) not as a figure of respect, but almost disguised contempt, with his laughable businessman-like, eager-to-appeal demeanour. (I agree he was not very good as the ghost, but I enjoyed his sleaziness in the main role.)

The only thing I intensely disliked was the set design: it looked oddly like a village school production of "Hamlet", with its painted cardboard-like stage and the odd revolving pillars - neither of which, to me, helped create the feel of an actual castle, fake glamour of it or not - and pink-loaded pastels, but I have not been able to deduce, or even come up with an idea of what might have been behind that choice. (Anyone has?)

[peggs]

Am I going to have much of a blood faint risk please?

[Forrest]

peggs , no, don't worry, it's not bloody at all, and some potentially more difficult scenes are not actually shown, just referenced. 

[londonpostie]

Hi @forrest Fwiw, I had a different read on Claudius but, in yours, I do like the implication of Melania Trump. There doesn't seem to be passion in the marriage and you wonder what it is between them that caused events to lead to this ... The phrase used with the Trump's is that it was a 'transactional marriage'. Again, a potential fit with Claudius and Gertrude. And we know that Cush will have strong opinions on all of that given her recent return to London from a career there.

tbh, I need an alternative understanding becasue, atm, all I have for an explanation is that it's a mediocre performance by Adrian Dunbar. Prefer to move on from that.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed it!