Review: THE PLAY'S THE THING: A ONE-PERSON HAMLET, Wilton's Music Hall

An egotistical king, high on his own supply of power, destabilising Denmark, leading to a crisis for the state? Thank God it could never happen these days… 

So identified is the actor with the role, that it’s tempting to recall Hamlets as one-man shows. Rory Kinnear at the National, Andrew Scott at the Almeida and Luke Thalon recently at the RSC. It’s a useful shorthand, but no more than that, as the play involves plenty of other characters. 

This crucial point is driven home in The Play’s The Thing: A One-Person Hamlet, for which Fiona Laird (directing) and Mark Lockyer (acting) have distilled Shakespeare’s longest work into 100 minutes or so of furious action. 

Inevitably, we lose something as events pile one of top of the other in the psychological and physical vortex that spirals into madness, mayhem and murder. That’s probably a good thing for the rows of schoolkids I was delighted to see at the matinee I attended, pace so critical in engaging young people, but this Hamlet progresses a little too swiftly from contemplation to action. The crucial self-doubt, the wrestling with conscience, the pause with dagger in hand when contemplating regicide and its aftermath zip by, plot overwhelming character. It’s not a YA adaptation, but there are times when it comes across in that style.

Lockyer does not hold back. Aided by outstanding lighting (by Tim Mitchell) in this evocative but tricky venue, he jumps, sometimes literally, from character to character, youth to age, male to female. To assist in our tracking of who’s who, there’s exaggeration on show - I wonder if surtitles might have helped here, permitting the signposting to be dialled back a little? I suppose that’s part of the deal for a one-person show. As are the compromises in the action, the climactic duel between Hamlet and Laertes more mimed than fought, Gertrude’s poisoning a grab at the throat, a collapse and we’re back with King Claudius’s shock.

Perhaps also in service of keeping the runtime manageable (initially billed at 90 minutes, it did come in a bit longer), Lockyer’s line readings feel hurried, the rhythms and cadences of the verse sacrificed as we rush forward to the next scene. Of course, the whole point of doing Shakespeare in 2025, particularly this play, is to find one’s own voice in the iconic role of English Theatre, but it can also be a missed opportunity.

Not quite a curio, as you’re never too far away from a one-person Hamlet in London, but not quite a startling interpretation either, this production delivers on its promise, but falls a little short of its potential.      

The Play's The Thing: A One-Person Hamlet at Wilton's Music Hall until 12 April