A reviews round-up for Hamlet at the Harold Pinter Theatre.
Olivier Award-winning director, Robert Icke’s ground-breaking and electrifying production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, starring Andrew Scott as the Danish Prince opens in the West End.
Following its acclaimed run at the Almeida Theatre, Icke’s revival appears to have lost none of its heart or vigour.
Read our round-up of reviews below
Buy tickets for Hamlet
Hamlet runs until 2 September 2017 at the Harold Pinter Theatre, London.
REVIEWS ROUND-UP
“Andrew Scott’s prince proves a brilliant communicator as Robert Icke’s acclaimed Almeida production transfers to the West End”
“At every turn, Icke opts for whatever is needed to extend the emotion of the play. This includes his use of Bob Dylan’s music. Not Dark Yet pours into the final duel – with the line “Feel like my soul has turned into steel” accompanying the flash of foils.”
“Hamlet may be in doubt but Scott is not – he is a brilliant communicator and ensures that Shakespeare’s language never sounds archaic.”
Kate Kellaway, The Observer
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“Andrew Scott is an outstanding Hamlet; [he] excels in a first-class production”
“Neither Scott’s nor anyone else’s performance has been ramped up for a venue two and half times the size; the consequent occasional intelligibility problems are far outweighed by the sense of human scale.”
Ian Shuttleworth, Financial Times
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“Andrew Scott proves a sweet prince indeed in this Hamlet with a heart-review”
“In this production, previously seen at the Almeida, Icke has brought theatrical Ronseal to the rotten state of Denmark. By and large, it works magnificently – aided by leading man, Andrew Scott.”
“This is a production where blood ties are keenly drawn – where Polonius (Peter Wight) clucks around his children, Laertes (Luke Thompson) and Ophelia (Jessica Brown Findlay); where Claudius and Gertrude, all too often a couple portrayed as sexless power brokers, give the impression that they are constantly at it hammer and tongs.”
“Ultimately, this is a Hamlet with heart. “
Ben Lawrence, The Telegraph
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“Andrew Scott is a wonderfully moving Hamlet”
“May be slow, but it is not to be missed. Moriarty in Elsinore? Yes, and Bob Dylan too. A handful of the Nobel laureate’s songs are powerfully woven into this much-anticipated revival. “
Paul Taylor, Independent
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“Transferring to the West End, Robert Icke's Andrew Scott-starring production of 'Hamlet' remains remarkable”
“It’s the strength of the ensemble – and the sense that these characters are a community – that makes the three-and-a-half-hours zip by, though.”
“The cast is strong all over”
Andrzej Lukowski, TimeOut
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“Robert Icke’s production is an amazing achievement.”
“Now it’s in the West End, and I’m knocked out all over again”
“Neat ideas help to make this 400-year-old play feel new — and the delicate, intimate acting is a triumph.”
Dominic Maxwell, The Times
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‘hypnotic’
“His performance is one of complexity, clarity and control: Scott uses silence beautifully.”
“Though the production – with its Scandi-sheen, its CCTV monitors and live video feeds, its muted colour palette and gliding screen doors, its Bob Dylan fixation – often has to fight against the plush surroundings, it wins out. It remains majestic.”
Natasha Tripney, The Stage
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