Hamlet at Chichester Festival Theatre Review
Giles Terera in Hamlet. Photo by Ellie Kurttz
Written by Jasmine for Theatre & Tonic
Disclaimer: Gifted tickets in exchange for an honest review
Artistic Director, Justin Audibert, brings Chichester Festival Theatre its first Hamlet starring Giles Terera with outstanding skill and clarity. This is a production immersed in Hamlet’s darkness, bringing to life an Elsinore where everyone is always watching you and nobody can be entirely trusted.
One thing I loved about this production was that it was not overly self-conscious that it was doing Hamlet - it did not linger too heavily on famous speeches or assume you knew what was coming next, it performed the play like it was written yesterday. The fundamental things here are right; the actors are all incredible Shakespeare interpreters, easy to follow, and never failing to find the depth of meaning in every word. What they build on these foundations is a world of subterfuge and paranoia that reminds us how disastrous things can become when we lose connection with each other. The moments where characters are able to lift their masks, express affection for each other without suspicion, are few and far between but where they happen, even in the small looks and touches sprinkled throughout each scene, they have a huge impact. For example, even the briefest of looks between the brilliant Gertrude (Sara Powell) and Claudius (Ariyon Bakare) speaks of a longer history of secrets we can’t know, or when Hamlet (Giles Terera) sees his friends or speaks to Ophelia when he is unsuspecting, we feel the intensity of his relief from pretending.
Lily Arnolds’ set and costumes lend themselves to this world of paranoia - particularly effective is the windows and room above the stage from which people can spy on goings on below unseen. This builds out the worlds and allows new meaning to be found in characters’ actions as we see them overhear one another’s conversations. A small mountain of earth links this upper room with the lower stage, and the phrase ‘from dust to dust’ is brought to mind as we see how the characters slip from palace to earth, how it is part of their world - the use of the earth, the dust throughout, is one of the play’s most powerful images. The sound design too, done by Ed Clarke with composition by Jonathan Girling, manifests paranoia through white noise, echoing drips that feel like the building threat of tragedy; it amplifies the discomfort of their world. The lighting design is beautiful - soft orange glow bulbs hung above the audience, bringing us from time to time out of darkness or flicker with the ghost’s arrival - dragging you into their world and providing contrast to the cold stage lighting whose most prominent stylistic choice is a circle of lights that fall on the centre and often isolate speakers like a light from heaven.
Despite the dark feel of the set - devoid almost entirely of any colour except for Ophelia’s clothes and flowers - this production doesn’t fail to find the comedy that runs through so much of Hamlet. Keir Charles gives a standout performance as Polonius that will have you laugh out loud and pulls together the family tragedy of Polonius, Ophelia (Eve Ponsonby), and Laertes (Ryan Hutton) because so much light is lost from the story the moment he is gone. Ponsonby commands the stage in Ophelia’s subsequent madness, and watching Laertes (Hutton) try to connect with her is one of the most moving moments of the show, built on the fact that even in the brief scene they have at the start, the actors make the sibling relationship/family dynamic feel so clear and relatable. Beatie Edney also does what might be my favourite ever performance of the gravedigger scene, giving you a real sense of who they are in the world in just a couple of lines and providing a much needed respite from the royal world.
Terera’s Hamlet, too, is able to switch between light and darkness so deftly that your hope for Hamlet never fully fades - you see these glimpses of who he used to be in every joke, lighthearted moment, and the quick repartee he can strike up with the other characters onstage. His performance is likeable, layered, and never puts Hamlet up on a level where the audience can’t meet him - he brings us into his world at every opportunity.
All in all, this is an incredible ensemble production that will find new meaning for Hamlet fans and an accessible and exciting way in for Hamlet newbies.
Hamlet plays at Chichester Festival Theatre until 4 October
★★★★★
