This Above All: To Thine Own Self Be True

So I finally got to see a full stage production of the Danish Prince. This is despite 2017 being the year of the Hamlet's, having productions starring Andrew Scott (although that will be broadcast on the BBC sometime this year) and Tom Hiddleston (mmm). However, it is the 2016 at the Royal Shakespeare Company now embarking on the UK tour that I had the pleasure of catching. It was the first night in fact, on its run at the Lowry, Salford, where it will end on 3rd February.

This time was completely different to the National Theatre production starring Benedict Cumberbatch, as director Simon Godwin pushed the boat out on an African setting, including the casting (with a few exceptions, one being Eleanor Wyld's Guildenstern, who arrives with Romayne Andrew's Rosencrantz and a few trashy British tourist biscuit tins; oddly enough I was following their story rather intently after having seen Rosencrantz & Guildenstern Are Dead last year.......). Anyway, I really digress!! Where was I? Oh yes....

The set, costumes, even to the fighting style in the final scene between Hamlet and Laertes (compared to the traditional fencing match). In this, a huge aspect is the music, with soulful voices that sounded just as if they'd spent a year with the Lion King and FULL of djembes; and there is an interesting link here - the music in this was all done by Sola Akingbola, a percussionist and band member of Jamiroquai no less. Well, fancy that! A final note on this direction - it was original and absolutely fantastic.

Reprising his performance from the 2016 production is Paapa Essiedu as the titular character - his casting for the tour was a big reason for me putting this on my list for this year, and I don't think he disappointed. Clad in a white suit covered in florescent paint, or a t-shirt, jeans and beanie hat, he seemed a rather chilled and very relatable Hamlet - and rather sarcastic, which I enjoyed a lot.

The other performance worth me mentioning here was Joseph Mydell as Polonius. When I originally saw the BC version in the cinema, Polonius was a bit forgettable, but that was impossible here. He came over as a very kind and caring man - but it was his death which cemented his performance (ooops, spoiler..... never mind!). I didn't remember Polonius' death to be funny, but on the night, it didn't quite go according to plan... I don't know whether the gun had stage fright or something but it refused to fire (stage fire of course), prompting a loud cry of BANG coming from Essiedu towards the arras.

The hardest aspect of it is following along with the Old English, particularly during Hamlet's many monologues; but the more you see it, the more you understand it. Like I said earlier, the Salford run ends on 3rd February before touring to Plymouth, Hull, Newcastle and Northampton before finishing with a run at London's Hackney Empire; and it's definitely worth a watch.