Stafford Gatehouse this week presents Shakespeare’s Hamlet - a tale of grief, deceit and overbrewed revenge. Benedict Shaw takes the title role - born-and-bred in Stafford, and having cut his teeth at the Gatehouse Youth Theatre, this production is something of a homecoming. 

The Staffordian audience has welcomed their local lad back to the stage with open arms, and he has done them proud. Hamlet is a famously meaty role, with the character being stretched to emotional torment, occasional oedipal overtones, a climactic swordfight and even discourse with a troupe of travelling actors. Poor fella. 

Shaw takes it all in his stride, and approaches the part with sensitivity, drawing fresh meaning from the oft-spoken speeches, and taking the character from subdued depression to energetic mania as the play, parallel with Hamlet’s psyche, descends into tragedy. 

It all begins with Hamlet’s father - the previous king of Denmark - who died two months earlier. Hamlet’s mother Gertrude (Llinos Daniel) has since married Claudius (Sean O’Callaghan), the late King’s brother. But when a ghostly apparition of the old King appears, telling Hamlet that his death was far from natural, the fragile politics of the court starts to unravel. Something is rotten in the state of Denmark…

The production makes every beat of the story clear and accessible, with care taken to reveal the layered implications. The play contains some of Shakespeare’s most frequently quoted lines (‘To be or not to be’, for one) but the words don’t feel tired - clarity is the order of the day, and when Shaw soliloquizes to the audience, the text feels natural and spontaneous. This production has a fair few larger-than-life moments and amplified performances, all in the name of getting the point across.

The set and visual effects are well-designed, with atmospheric bookcases framing the stage. An early scene in near-total darkness features handheld torches, used to great effect and casting looming shadows on the walls. Set in the modern day, occasional important moments are captured on camera and projected across the stage - reminding the audience of the political situation, as Denmark teeters on the brink of war. 

Two stand-out performances were Alex Wadham as Horatio - whose loyal, measured presence balanced Hamlet’s turmoil, with the pair’s close relationship subtly but surely visible on stage - and Sean McKenzie as Polonius. McKenzie gives humour and energy to a role that can otherwise be boorish and bumbling. He was drawing laughter from the audience even before his transformation into the comic Gravedigger - for which he was almost unrecognisable.

Much care has been poured into the production, which is a true celebration of the region’s talent - so it’s no surprise that the good people of Stafford were on their feet at the end of the show. There will surely be more standing ovations before the final curtain falls.

Four Stars

Hamlet was reviewed at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre on Thursday 26 June, where it shows until Saturday 5 July.