Radio Times

Review by:

Alison Graham

A bleary-eyed and tousled David Tennant leads us on an engaging trot through the joys of playing despondent Dane Hamlet, one of the great theatrical roles and one Tennant has played on stage and TV to great acclaim.

He talks to other Hamlets, including Simon Russell Beale, who found an instant connection between Hamlet’s overwhelming grief at the loss of a parent – his murdered father – and Beale’s loss of his mother who died just before he played the role for the first time. “It was my gift to her,” he says.

Jude Law reveals that the best advice he was ever given about playing Hamlet was ”learn your lines.” Which sounded trite until he looked at the play properly. And Ben Whishaw, who played the King in Richard II recently, makes the actorly observation of The Dane: “Of all the parts I’ve played, that one feels the most transparent.”

About this programme

6/6. The former Doctor Who star, who played Hamlet in a 2008 Royal Shakespeare Company production, explores the different approaches actors have taken to the role of the troubled Danish prince. Alongside Simon Russell Beale and Ben Whishaw, he explores why the play is often regarded as Shakespeare's finest work, and examines how 16th-century audiences might have reacted to it. He also explains why he believes its popularity has endured to the present day, and how its themes continue to resonate in the modern world.

Cast and crew

Cast

Contributor

David Tennant

Contributor

Simon Russell Beale

Contributor

Ben Whishaw

Contributor

Gregory Doran

Contributor

Justin Champion

Crew

Director

Nicola Stockley

Series Producer

Richard Denton

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