64th performance of Hamlet (my 21st)
Photo not from tonight
I was really lucky again with these tickets as I happened to be online on Thursday when they added Row B in the stalls so I snapped up 2 for tonight as a friend really wanted to go and I certainly didn't mind going again! My seat tonight was slightly more central than last night (but I think I preferred last night's seat as more happens on stage left).
David Tennant was back to crouching and sitting even more on stage tonight. There were some fans of his beside me who had been told that it was because he had a bad back but I think it's also because there's less room to move around so he uses up and down more. The way he moved around certainly didn't look as though there was anything too seriously wrong with his back. I just think he's also trying out different ways of doing things in this theatre.
Once again David Tennant crouched into a ball at the beginning of the reception scene and stood for the "Seems Madam" speech. Patrick Stewart seems to take a delight in really slapping DT's arms at the end of that scene, almost as though he's trying to make him spill his wine!
Penny Downie's cold seemed a bit better tonight although you could hear her coughing off stage before the scene when she tells them that Ophelia has drowned. Again tonight Hamlet stroked her hair at the end of the bedroom scene and the kissed her on the head rather than on the lips.
You can hear far more clearly here what Hamlet says when they are going around the stage swearing on the sword. I could never really make out the words clearly in Stratford but I can here in London.
Tonight DT did all the "To be or not to be" speech on his knees. He used to use all his body to look uncomfortable and depressed but tonight I could only see his torso and face and he managed to convey exactly the same thing which is very impressive. He talks to the whole audience (and this is a very high theatre) and his eyes constantly look all around which encompasses everybody.
I think my favourite part tonight was during the play scene as just for a second DT looked directly at me!
The "Now I am alone" speech was just fantastic tonight! DT used all the stage and really got into it. When I've seen other actors perform that speech, there's been hardly any reaction when they've talked about people sitting at a play but when DT plays it, there's always a nervous twitter that goes around the crowd!
In the bedroom scene when Gertrude knocked the lamp off the bedside table and it falls on the ground, there was about a second delay before they switched the lamp off tonight!
Tonight from where I was sitting I could see DT peeping through the curtain to check that Polonius's body was in position and then he just crept out as Claudius ended his speech before he dragged it across the stage.
There were a couple of mistakes on stage tonight that I noticed:
Laertes didn't have the unction with him so he just mentioned it.
Hamlet moved away from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern too early and then realised that he had to walk around Polonius with them so he walked backwards as they walked forwards instead of having his arms around their shoulders.
I also noticed that tonight DT played his recorder left-handed (i.e. with his left hand highest).
Tonight DT did most of the eggshell speech on his knees. That's one speech that I still struggle to understand (it's the only speech in the play that I really don't know by heart).
As DT exited the stage after the graveyard scene he tripped over his rucksack so that he landed on it and Horatio helped him up to get it off stage in time to get changed. (This was behind the side curtain so was out of view of most people.)
When Hamlet was cut on the neck, as DT pulled his hand away, I noticed that the vial that had held the blood was still caught on his hand so he flicked that across the stage out of sight!
Tonight Edward Bennett (who plays Laertes) did the speech at the end of the bows about the AIDS collection.
I had to walk past the stage door to catch my train and I saw that they had the barriers set the same way as on Thursday so I doubt that many people will have got autographs. I didn't bother staying as I wouldn't have been able to see much of his interaction.
David Tennant was back to crouching and sitting even more on stage tonight. There were some fans of his beside me who had been told that it was because he had a bad back but I think it's also because there's less room to move around so he uses up and down more. The way he moved around certainly didn't look as though there was anything too seriously wrong with his back. I just think he's also trying out different ways of doing things in this theatre.
Once again David Tennant crouched into a ball at the beginning of the reception scene and stood for the "Seems Madam" speech. Patrick Stewart seems to take a delight in really slapping DT's arms at the end of that scene, almost as though he's trying to make him spill his wine!
Penny Downie's cold seemed a bit better tonight although you could hear her coughing off stage before the scene when she tells them that Ophelia has drowned. Again tonight Hamlet stroked her hair at the end of the bedroom scene and the kissed her on the head rather than on the lips.
You can hear far more clearly here what Hamlet says when they are going around the stage swearing on the sword. I could never really make out the words clearly in Stratford but I can here in London.
Tonight DT did all the "To be or not to be" speech on his knees. He used to use all his body to look uncomfortable and depressed but tonight I could only see his torso and face and he managed to convey exactly the same thing which is very impressive. He talks to the whole audience (and this is a very high theatre) and his eyes constantly look all around which encompasses everybody.
I think my favourite part tonight was during the play scene as just for a second DT looked directly at me!
The "Now I am alone" speech was just fantastic tonight! DT used all the stage and really got into it. When I've seen other actors perform that speech, there's been hardly any reaction when they've talked about people sitting at a play but when DT plays it, there's always a nervous twitter that goes around the crowd!
In the bedroom scene when Gertrude knocked the lamp off the bedside table and it falls on the ground, there was about a second delay before they switched the lamp off tonight!
Tonight from where I was sitting I could see DT peeping through the curtain to check that Polonius's body was in position and then he just crept out as Claudius ended his speech before he dragged it across the stage.
There were a couple of mistakes on stage tonight that I noticed:
Laertes didn't have the unction with him so he just mentioned it.
Hamlet moved away from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern too early and then realised that he had to walk around Polonius with them so he walked backwards as they walked forwards instead of having his arms around their shoulders.
I also noticed that tonight DT played his recorder left-handed (i.e. with his left hand highest).
Tonight DT did most of the eggshell speech on his knees. That's one speech that I still struggle to understand (it's the only speech in the play that I really don't know by heart).
As DT exited the stage after the graveyard scene he tripped over his rucksack so that he landed on it and Horatio helped him up to get it off stage in time to get changed. (This was behind the side curtain so was out of view of most people.)
When Hamlet was cut on the neck, as DT pulled his hand away, I noticed that the vial that had held the blood was still caught on his hand so he flicked that across the stage out of sight!
Tonight Edward Bennett (who plays Laertes) did the speech at the end of the bows about the AIDS collection.
I had to walk past the stage door to catch my train and I saw that they had the barriers set the same way as on Thursday so I doubt that many people will have got autographs. I didn't bother staying as I wouldn't have been able to see much of his interaction.
Next performance for me: Monday (8th)!
