Hasland Theatre Company’s Hamlet – 26 May 2025, The Playhouse, Chesterfield
Review by Nicola Bourne.
Hasland Theatre Company kicked off their final production of the season last night, with a bold retelling of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, at their long-time venue, The Playhouse. Giving the classic a modern twist, this adaptation takes place in the present age, as opposed to the Middle Ages, and invites the audience to appreciate the original story in a more relatable format, which could hopefully encourage more “bums on seats” for a genre that can often be daunting for today’s theatregoers.
One of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies, Hamlet is a dark tale of revenge, brought about by corruption, deceit and unchecked ambition. When Prince Hamlet’s father dies mysteriously, his mother, Gertrude, is quick to marry her dead husband’s brother, Claudius, who becomes the new king and ruler of Denmark. The former king’s ghost reveals to Hamlet that his uncle Claudius had, in fact, poisoned him, so that he could take the throne for himself. Hamlet vows revenge and his own subversive investigations lead him down a path of madness, melancholy, murder and danger. The story resolves, as it so often does with Shakespeare, with a realisation that actions come with a price to pay, and that no good ever comes from the cycle of violence and revenge.
Taking place in a modern day Elsinore, technology and surveillance cameras were key to introducing the ghost of the former king to several witnesses including Hamlet. This idea worked so well in not only bringing things up to date, but also in dealing with the practical challenges of projecting a mysterious ghostly spirit into the mix.
The set designers (Teresa Hodgkinson, Nicky Beards and Andy Aldred) clearly made the most of the space, often splitting the stage into foreground and background, which encouraged a multi-layered performance. The gravedigger scene also showed the set being used to its full potential. Peter Davies’ use of lighting and sound did a great job of setting the scenes, whether it be a light glitzy party scene with mood music, or the dark, eerie, black and white feel to the other-worldly interactions, especially during the initial meeting between Hamlet and his father’s ghost, which was particularly effective. The costumes, while simple and understated, were doing their job of putting the audience right in the here and now and while elaborate outfits were not needed for this adaptation, Ophelia’s drunken attire was very creative and caused a bit of a giggle amongst the audience.
Hamlet, indeed any Shakespeare play, is a mammoth undertaking and the company certainly pulled this off. The director, Nicky Beards’ vision of modernising the show and concentrating on the human condition, was competently realised. She, and stage manager, Olivia Brooks, have successfully brought all of the aspects together, and all cast and crew deserve credit. All actors gave good performances and I was certainly able to believe that treachery was afoot in Denmark.
Sticking with the main characters, though, Steve Cowley gave a confident performance, as Hamlet. Starting out as a grieving, likeable character, he evolved into a vengeful, melancholic personality. He had great stage presence, physicality and his voice was used so well to portray a madman. I couldn’t take my eyes off him and he was so well cast in this primary role. He obviously has some experience behind him.
Claudius (Nick Hallam) was successfully aloof and unlikeable, as the new king, which was the point, after all, given the treacherous backstory! Ann Hawkswood played a lovestruck Gertrude well too, but thankfully, showed some compassion to Hamlet in the end.
Heather Davies was a great Ophelia and played the part of drunken / grieving Ophelia to a tee. I loved her, maybe even more though, in her second role, as the gravedigger’s assistant, where her comic timing and talent for accents shone. I particularly loved the way she made comments about the props she’d brought onto stage, which was a new concept for me, but a great comedic way to transition seamlessly and stay in character.
Laertes, played by Ed Telfer, had such a strong presence too, and his voice and delivery stood out for me, coming from such a young actor. Equally good was Harry Nixon, playing Horatio, who also had a strong voice, which projected well. Rob Dean, playing Polonius, was both fatherly in his interactions with Ophelia, but also played his underhand character well. The ghost of Old Hamlet (Andrew Heyna) had a suitably regal voice and, although his character didn’t appear often, his comedic talents were evident in his second role as the actor. Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, played by Neil Beards and Ria Westhead respectively, were suitably silly in their roles and brought their own comedy elements.
Last and not least, I feel I should mention the venue itself. What a hidden treasure! The entire evening offered a cosier theatrical experience, with no bad seat choices. I’d encourage anyone to come and see this, even if you think Shakespeare is not usually for you. It was contemporary and relatively easy to follow the story, despite the language being in its original form. I noted so many famous lines, that I had forgotten came from this play! It’s a great introduction to Shakespeare, or for regular theatregoers, it oers something a little different to other productions you may have seen.