Review: WAITING FOR HAMLET – ADELAIDE FRINGE 2026 at Ayer’s House State Dining Room

Reviewed by Barry Lenny, Thursday 12th March 2026.

Presented by NJNG Productions and James Seabright, and written by David Visick, Waiting for Hamlet takes us to the afterlife, where the ghosts of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet, and Yorick, his jester, engage in conversation. Visick’s very clever play is the winner of the Kenneth Branagh New Drama Writing Award 2018 and the OnComm Award 2020.

It was to have been performed here in the Fringe in 2000, but COVID-19 prevented it. Instead, it was presented as a video, with Nicholas Collett as Yorick and Tim Marriott as the King, each recording their parts at their own homes to be edited later by the director, Trevor Datson. They are currently performing it in numerous venues around England, to excellent reviews.

For the Fringe this year, though, the American cast, Christopher Gibbs and Mark Liebert, appear as King Hamlet and Yorick. The King wants to go back to the living world to direct his son’s actions and enact his revenge, while Yorick tries to prevent him from interfering and persuade him to move on. The King is a fool; the Fool is not.

Played by two New Yorkers, this is a very different take on Visick’s script to that presented by Collett and Marriott. Here, King Hamlet and Yorick are an hilarious Shakespearean Odd Couple. The King looks down his nose, figuratively and literally, at everybody he believes is beneath him, which does actually seem to be absolutely everybody. He resembles an Upper Manhattan millionaire, old money, arrogant, and self-absorbed.

There is a great rapport between these two fine actors, who make excellent use of the interplay arising from the script. Gibbs delivers his lines with a wonderful dry wit. Yorick, however, could pass for a cabbie from the Bronx. Liebert provides sharp contrast with a broader approach to the humour, a strong accent, and considerable physicality. Their performances lock together to create a superb piece of comic theatre.

The contrast even extends to their costumes. Gibbs looks regal in a tailored suit, with added gold epaulettes and a purple sash, while Liebert wears a riotous multi-coloured outfit, topped with a traditional jesters hat, a cap’n’bells.

This is one of those rare gems that turn up during the Fringe, discivered if you look carefullyenough through the vast programme, making it all worthwhile. Sadly, there are only three performances of this excellent production. If you can still get a ticket, hurry to book.

Photography, Barry Lenny.