The acting in this production of Hamlet is very good. In particular, the phrasing and cadence make the text that is spoken accessible and easy to understand. However, the play IS the thing and this production of Hamlet has slashed and burned the text much in the same way as the Forestry Commission claims to improve natural forests by “managing” them. The entire first scene, which sets the themes of identity and the difference between appearance and reality, is missing.” This sense of constant questioning is perhaps best epitomized in the opening line, “Who’s there?”
Large swathes of text have been cut out and Fortinbras, who represents an outside force, is missing from the final scene. The play, Shakespeare’s longest, has been cut to about two and a half hours. Would one leave out the “da ad da dum” riff that opens Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony or the jangling polytonal chord that opens “A Hard Days Night”? This is a generally good production of the play but, in general, I believe that directors should show more respect for the text.