★ ★ ★ ★
It’s not easy to get Shakespeare’s most famous play down to fringe length from over 4 hours, but Sherman & Friends, a loose US theatre collective have managed this impossible feat. When such well-known classical texts are truncated it is as much about what is absent than what is included.
Hannah Sweet and Nicola Collett take us to Elsinor Castle and through a fast-paced two-hander, tell the tale well. It can be exciting to see how the two use innovation and clever direction to play dozens of mostly male characters. Each character is represented by a piece of clothing, yet their characterisation is so strong, such details are often irrelevant. The speed of the show lends itself to almost cartoonish patter in places, which can sometimes lessen the impact of the more emotional soliloquies. Collett and Sweet know their text well, and the iambic pentameter never drops.
They are as funny as they are dramatic. They actually made the jokes in the original text funny, which is a rarity. I felt that they didn’t need to add contemporary jokey references, they are funny enough as it is.
Gatekeeping Shakespeare snobs will scoff at such a radical take on The Bard’s work, not grasping that fresh takes such as these allow people to access the work and understand it, something that Shakespeare’s company prided itself in centuries ago.
It’s excellent to see Mara Sherman’s taut direction play out through A Two Woman Hamlet, when creatives from our communities work on Shakespeare they bring out the humanity and depth others miss.
A Two Woman Hamlet Greenside @ Nicholson Square (Lime Studio) 17:15 Aug 5-13, 16-20, 22-27 £12-10 (available online)
