The Pocket Oxford Theatre’s child friendly working of Hamlet at the Warren, Brighton was a hoot.
The audience from the youngest to the oldest loved the jaunty performances of the two principal actors, Teds Walker as Hamlet and Jonathan Richardson as Everybody Else.
The play, while remaining true to the original plot, was broken down into bite sized portions so that even the youngest members of the audience could understand the story and characters.
The actors engaged a handful of youngsters from the audience to take parts including the travelling players and the Ghost, duelling or suffering agonising death by poisoning. They went down a storm.
Before curtain up, we heard a teen complaining to his dad about being dragged out to the theatre only to see him end up laughing and cheering with the rest of us as the show warmed up.
This is a show for the whole family. Its use of modern idiom and music mixed with some of the more memorable lines from the work made an impression on even those most resistant to the charms of Shakespeare. It might even open minds to the magic of the Bard.
Next stop a double header at the 20th Century Theatre, London.
Five stars
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