Review: HAMLET, Holy Trinity Church, Guildford

There's a certain gravitas that follows Hamlet, a reverence that seems to accompany the great Dane alone. When you happen to have a centuries-old church at hand for Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, this happenstance only grows. Freddie Fox stars at the Prince and Holy Trinity Church in Guildford acts as "most excellent canopy" for Tom Littler's first take on the most dysfunctional of Danish families.

The unquestionably great backdrop and England's acting royalty - Freddie isn't the only Fox, his father Edward appears as the demonic ghost of King Hamlet heard in thundering voiceover - carry the performance. Seeing a glorious titular character refrain from murdering his once-uncle-now-stepfather while he prays in a real place of worship certainly has its impact, but when the surrounding performances seem to inhabit a stylistically different play, the prowess of one means relatively little. It is a slightly unfocused production that comes off as tentative rather than assured, never quite fully coming into itself.

Fox is spellbinding - particularly when he is by himself. He is tormented in his soliloquies. Torn between pretence and truth, vengeance and grief, as he is faced with a family who's deaf to his pain. This is a Hamlet who's never truly known suffering before the loss of his father, therefore has no coping mechanism or a support system to engage. An emotional breakdown slowly gives space to the cold brutality that ends his - and several other people's - life.

While we last saw Fox on a stage in the hilarious Edmond de Bergerac, he is no stranger to drama and proves himself able to switch deftly between pure distress and flamboyant, backhanded sarcasm. Once the dam opens and his character confronts his feelings, he is the lifeblood of the project. He only wobbles during the absurdly long and messy death scene. "I am dead!" he repeats. Except that he's not and won't be for quite some time.

Hamlet's women tragically become an oversight. Karen Ascoe's Gertrude is a weak and inconsequential queen who shows very limited emotion throughout, while Ophelia (Rosalind Ford) is infuriatingly bland. The latter's "madness" is delivered by making her look like she's been dragged through a hedge backwards while she sings out of tune and scratches her head.

Her brother Laertes (Daniel Burke) starts as a rather insecure and humble young man. He returning from France as a leather jacket-clad rebel with a cause who has Noel White's Claudius cowering in fear and kneeling before him. The new monarch is seen through the icy lens of politics, but - along with his wife - isn't explored as a man, remaining withdrawn. He speaks to the press from the pulpit, unravelling the Danish flag and attempting to inspire the nation after the sudden demise of their beloved king, but lacks in both charisma and presence.

Played by Stefan Bednarczyk, his counsellor Polonius is a vicar. He is relentlessly funny in his delivery and establishes the only relatively healthy family relationship in the play. Ophelia confides in him, and we believe it (but why is he always on his phone? Who is he texting?). Alongside his brilliant portrayal, we find Pepter Lunkuse's sweet and delicate Horatio, whose glint in her eyes briefly lets us consider she might be withholding something more than friendship. Littler doesn't cut her final scene and lets Horatio grab the poisoned drink to follow Hamlet in death (before the Prince forbids her to), so, in retrospect, all her glances and counsel are a beautiful lead up to it.

While the production is a host to some dubious choices, it isn't without well-thought and clever details. It's even more of a shame it doesn't fulfil its potential, for Littler scatters crumbs of genius. Hamlet juxtaposes a picture of his father kept in his wallet to a banknote featuring the newly crowned ruler of Denmark in a vivid allegory; Fortinbras takes the spotlight; even the pirates get their mostly-forgotten mention in a text to Horatio. But it's when Hamlet is isolated that the show has the chance to reflect upon itself and fully reveal the spectre of what it could be.

The unfortunate missteps of it might be attributed to Covid-related issues: the company had to delay press night by a week, so who's to say that the unrehearsed quality of its stylistic instability isn't also due to the situation. In any case, Fox as directed by Littler is worth the trip to Surrey alone.

Hamlet runs at the Holy Trinity Church in Guildford until 23 February.

Photo credit: Matt Pereira

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