HAMLET Tom Mann Theatre
...tt’s avowed lifelong love-affair with the play, spurred by exposure to it at the tender age of ten, has, in the writer’s estimation served him well: his affinity, sympathy, and passion, are palpable; both in his deft editing, and talent direction. He might be believed when he claims to have not been ‘alive’ to all the nuances, at the time, but, the clear evidence is, he is, very much so, now. Equally alive, for the most part, are his cast, with Myles Ward-Thornton, as the prince himself, leading the fray. He looks every bit as princely as the modern-day Danish royal, if not moreso, and shows himself to be not only cultivated, in terms of, say, impactful delivery of soliloquy, but especially adept at physical theatre, not least fencing, which Gimblett has so bravely, and effectively, employed. If Ward-Thornton’s looks are the female crowd-pleaser, his dramatic duelling makes for an exciting boys’ night out! Again, Gimblett has ‘gifted’ himself, even gilded himself, with a truly remarkable cast; almost without exception: Michael O’Connell’s Claudius melds arrogance, with bu...