Hamlet At Theatre Royal Nottingham Review

DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW

Reviewed by Nina Chester

We travelled to Nottingham city centre by car and parked in a car park a few minutes’ walk from the theatre, however, the transport links to the City are excellent, with a tram stop outside the theatre and on street parking also available.

Returning to the Theatre Royal, Nottingham is always a pleasure, we were warmly greeted by attentive and helpful staff. The theatre is surrounded by all manner of bars, restaurants and cafes should you wish to eat or have a drink before or after the show, but the theatre’s own well stocked bar provided enough for us.

After studying Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar for O level at the age of 15 I could never have imagined wanting to go to see another of his plays for entertainment, but, 45 years later, it was with genuine excitement that I settled into my seat. The Theatre Royal has lots of legroom.

I knew very little of the plot of Hamlet beyond it’s a tragedy. I purposefully did no research prior to last night’s performance as I wanted to be fully immersed in the action and plot with no preconceptions, figuring that you only get to see something for the first time once.

The staging was brilliant, set on the Titanic, literally a sinking ship, the concept serving as a metaphor for the rotten state of Denmark. The angle of the deck and the movement must have been difficult for the actors, but allowed us an amazing view of the entire stage.

The company danced and even sang in parts but the whole time, the play was full of menace both personal and political.

Hamlet was played by Ralph Davis who carried the play along at pace, ever forward. He was brilliantly bitter and after seeing the ghost of his father, the murdered old King, decided on his course of action to bring the murderer, the new King, down. Due to the nature of his death, the old King Hamlet was denied the chance to receive the last rites, and it was this that left his spirit trapped to walk in purgatory. This made me think that if Claudius, the perpetrator had chosen a different method of murder, his own fate could have gone a very different way.

People have watched and studied this play and Shakespeare’s other works for 400 years, so I doubt I can tell you anything new! However, I can tell you that this touring production by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) was sublime, it has world class actors, I was particularly drawn to Georgia-Mae Myers’ Ophelia. Her unravelling, whilst not as chaotic as Hamlets was genuine, there was no calculation, it was innocent and the giving of a flower to her brother and the ensemble had significance “Rosemary for remembrance” as she passed the final gifts, her demeanor was perfect, her white undergarments captured her innocence. This is in contrast to Hamlet’s last conversation with her “Get thee to a nunnery” (possibly a convent, but more likely the inference from the time of writing is a brothel).

I loved the costumes, the Edwardian tunic dresses that sparkled under the stage lighting were a delight, contrasting sharply with Hamlet as his madness progresses, is it feigned or is it real, or does he become more broken as times move along? His costume becomes less and less, bare footed, ragged clothes, holes appearing in his clothing. A red jumper – a metaphor for danger, again I took this to be an unravelling of his mind.

I’d like to give a shout out to Zarah Meherali, costume supervisor: there are always so very many talented people to remember, although in the background, when a performance comes together in such an amazing way as this Hamlet has you appreciate that they are truly the backbone. How this can be a travelling production is incredible.

If you are familiar with Hamlet, I’m sure that this show won’t disappoint and if you are not, then what an introduction and I urge you to go and see it.

Rating: 5/5

Dates: Wednesday 18th March and Saturday 21st March. 2026

Tickets:  £21 – £37 (concessions available
Remaining shows are bookable here:  https://trch.co.uk/whats-on/rsc-hamlet-9qn5