***** ARGUS ANGEL WINNER

One of the highlights of Brighton Fringe and one looked forward to with great anticipation is the appearance of Robert Cohen in a self-penned solo show.

This year he has devised a piece that looks at Shakespeare’s Hamlet through the eyes of Claudius, his incestuous and murdering uncle.

Cohen delivers a double whammy. His writing is a marvellous work of imagination – clever but not pretentious with a fair sprinkling of black humour. The intelligent script is given life through his superb acting and storytelling skills. He grips his audience and provides more entertainment in 70 minutes than Stoppard managed to do in his full length take on Hamlet.

Each person in the audience is addressed by Claudius as though they are members of his council. A series of monologues tell his side of the story and let loose protestations of innocence but gradually reveal his long held jealousy and resentment against his brother. Also revealed is his hatred for Yorick, the court jester who had been allowed to humiliate him over the years. Cohen has written Yorick a bigger part than the Bard did.

Cohen provides Claudius with final words that are a delightfully funny piece of irony.