OSCAR WILDE once wrote that ‘there is no such thing as Shakespeare’s Hamlet’. His point was that the character, more than any other in world drama, depends on the actor’s individuality. You could hardly have better proof than Sir Ian McKellen’s performance in the current production at the Theatre Royal, Windsor. Sir Ian may be 82, but his Prince is full of physical energy, intellectual zest and vocal virtuosity.
His Hamlet has its oddities, many of which spring from Sean Mathias’s production. Given that Hamlet explicitly tells us he has ‘foregone all custom of exercises’, it seems bizarre that Sir Ian should interrupt his first soliloquy by leaping onto a gymnasium bike. And when he delivers ‘to be or not to be’ as he waits for a haircut, I was struck by how rarely one feels suicidal angst when visiting the barber’s.
These, however, are directorial eccentricities. The main thing about Sir Ian’s Hamlet is that you forget, after about two minutes, that you are watching a man in his eighties and that you realise the character’s hunger for revenge is outweighed by self-doubt. When it comes to the famous passage on ‘What a piece of work is man’, Sir Ian emphatically cries ‘And yet to me what is this quintessence of dust?’ as if personally exiled from an idealised humanism. Sir Ian’s ability to stress the unexpected word is seen in a later soliloquy when, astonished at the sight of the Norwegian army marching to gain a little patch of ground, he wonders why they should risk life and limb ‘even for an eggshell’. The last word leaps out at one reminding one of Shakespeare’s capacity to find cosmic significance in the commonplace.
This story is from the August 18, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the August 18, 2021 edition of Country Life UK.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Every picture tells a story
As the National Gallery prepares to celebrate its 200th anniversary in May, Carla Passino delves into the fascinating history of 10 of its paintings, from artistic triumphs to ugly ducklings and a clever fake
Flying between extremes
Revisiting the Norfolk of his childhood bright, but not as early as planned on an April morning, John Lewis-Stempel is entranced by the wildlife of the Broads and spots a crane so large it renders his binoculars redundant Illustration by Michael Frith
Satan on six legs
The prowling embodiment of Beelzebub, the Devil's coach horse beetle could absolve you of all your sins, says Ian Morton
Sometimes, less is more
FASHIONS in gardening come and go like those on the catwalk, they simply take a lot longer doing so: sometimes decades.
Dropping down to Derwentwater
The gardens of High Moss, Portinscale, Cumbria The home of Peter and Christine Hughes Non Morris visits a much-loved, Historically fascinating Arts-andCrafts garden, which has been imaginatively brought back to life
A Georgian legacy
Down in Wiltshire and Somerset, two country houses and estates have been well tended by their owners
Processions, proclamations and punishment
The wayside crosses that were once beacons in the British landscape have seldom survived the forces of Nature and iconoclasm. Lucien de Guise follows a trail of destruction
A sparkling collection
Guided by the nose of wine expert Harry Eyres, the COUNTRY LIFE team tasted some of England's finest sparkling wines and found elegance and finesse, with notes of hedgerows and seaside air, to compete with any fizz from across the Channel-surely, this is what we should be drinking now Qu
Hampering after summer
Lifting the lid on a sturdy hamper to find cold ham and ginger beer is a summer joy. Julie Harding meets the wicker weavers who make the dream come true
Life's a picnic
With picnic season fast approaching, it's time to elevate your alfresco feast to Michelin-star levels of deliciousness. Here, Paul Henderson asks a selection of the finest chefs to open up their picnic baskets and share some of their top tips for culinary success