68th RSC performance of Hamlet (my 23rd)
I missed the performance of Hamlet last night for a number of reasons, mainly the fact that I had a bad cold and felt really rough. My seat was in the stalls (although not a great view) and I managed to find someone who was delighted to have it. Instead I was in bed by 11.00pm!
Last night too the news came through that David Tennant was going to have an operation on his back today. It put things into perspective. On Tuesday night I was down as what (IMHO) should have been David Tennant's moment of triumph (great London press reviews) he was laid up with a bad back, but last night it brought it home that acting is "only" a job and health is more important.
Tonight I had a second row seat and I didn't feel as rough so a friend and I went. Thankfully no cough has developed yet and I was very careful to only blow my nose at the end of each scene which was just as well as during the reception scene, Patrick Stewart actually stopped and repeated a line as someone was coughing badly at the point!
I thought Edward Bennet as Hamlet was a lot better than on Monday night. He didn't gabble his lines as much but I just prefer David Tennant's interpretation. DT plays a more depressed Hamlet at the start and then a maniac one but Edward seems to just play him as angry all the way through, whereas with David he plays two different characters.
Edward says "your philosophy" whereas DT had switched (quite early in the run) to saying "our philosophy".
Edward's first line is different to how I've always known it (and how DT says it) as I've always known it to be "A little more than kin and less than kind" but EB puts the word "of" in the line somewhere.
Tonight, instead of "although I am native here and to the manor born", EB said "although I am to the manor born and native here" which is not how he said it on Monday.
EB seems more hesitant of using the match so they lit a light under the bed. Often David Tennant will hold the match for a minute or so. I;m always worried that he;s going to burn his fingers!
Tom Davey is just brilliant as Laeretes (personally I think he's better in the part than Edward) but Ricky Champ looks uncomfortable as Guildenstern to me.
EB in the red T-shirt does nothing for me!
The only clothes EB wears that are different from when DT plays it is in the final scenes when DT will wear a white vest with a blue shirt over it that he does up and tucks into his trousers on stage. Ed wears a blue stripped shirt with nothing underneath that he leaves untucked and even rolls up his sleeves.
The parts I think EB does better are the musical bits! If ever there's a musical version of Hamlet I think EB would get the part over DT! EB whistles far louder than DT and he plays the recorder right-handed. On a more serious note, I think the way he "drags" Ophelia around the stage by her hair in the nunnery scene is very effective.
I think Patrick Stewart is acting far better now!
