EXISTENTIAL angst, desperate thoughts and a mind spiralling out of control, it’s not hard to see how the introspectively dark music of Radiohead would complement the Bard’s classic. But who knew just how well it would not only fit but add such layers of understanding and poignancy in a quite remarkable match-up?
This is theatre on a powerful scale from the off. A towering set, stage smoke of rock gig proportions and bass resonances to set the theatre seats shaking all signal that the amps are turned up and the show means business.
Masters of the melancholy Radiohead’s name is all over this production and Tom Yorke’s menacing orchestrations of the group’s tracks are ever present in the hands of a top notch band. At times offering a grounding to the dialogue, then fully vocalised to accompany almost balletic passages of danced action, this was no mere underscore.
But perhaps the most impressive thing about this production is that if all the additional elements – the music, the movement, the visuals etc – were temporarily shelved, it would still be a terrific Hamlet. Richly detailed, perfectly balanced and with an enviable clarity of purpose this is a Hamlet to stand alongside any of the many standout offerings the RSC has hosted.
Fine performances come from the whole company across all disciplines. Clear characterisation sits with committed and impressive dance and movement from all. Those called on to sing also step up to the mark.
Samuel Blenkin’s Hamlet is pitch-perfect, delivering a vulnerability and an instability tempered with moments of delicious comic wit. His descent through dismay and anger into madness is wonderfully observed.
Hamlet’s juddering decline is matched elsewhere in a production not short on madness. Paul Hilton gives Claudius a seriously deranged aspect and Ami Tredrea’s Ophilia similarly succumbs to terminal mental collapse. Having Ophelia repeat Hamlet’s famous monologue of suicidal thinking was a masterstroke.
There are superb set-pieces throughout. From the crashing entry of the ghost, through Ophelia’s funeral to the final choreographed fight, there’s never a moment to look away.
Steven Hoggett and Christine Jones’s production sees a lot chopped out perhaps as a concession to fitting in so much music and movement but with the welcome effect of speeding the action along. At an hour and 40 minutes played without a break it’s relentless but utterly compelling.
Hamlet deals with terrible, bleak themes and the addition of some of Radiohead’s darkest moments ought to make things worse, but somehow this rather hellish marriage makes for one of the most stirring, uplifting productions in many a season.
