Little Lark of London

“I will speak daggers to her but use none”

Eddie Izzard: Hamlet is the comedian’s one-woman production of one of Shakespeare’s most iconic plays, which focuses on Prince Hamlet of Denmark and his descent into madness. Izzard is taking on 32 roles in this show, ranging from the intimidating ghost of Hamlet’s father to the sweet Ophelia. Shakespeare’s work has been adapted by Izzard’s brother, Mark Izzard, who has condensed the work down into a neat two hours and twenty minutes (including interval) and has added a few modern words (“bugger” and “git” were ones that certainly stood out to me).

Director Selina Cadell and Movement Director Didi Hopkins seem to be working to make Izzard’s Hamlet accessible to the masses, with Izzard making grand gestures and performing with sweeping movements, going for a maximalist performance against the minimalist set, a blank stage with a small platform designed by Tom Piper. The lighting by Tyler Elich also adds to the comprehension of the plot, with different colours being used to illustrate emotions and character – green for the ghost of Hamlet’s father, blue for Ophelia and red for fury. 

Unfortunately, it is difficult to see exactly why Izzard chose Hamlet as a one-woman show. In a world where one-person shows are becoming more and more common, like Andrew Scott’s Vanya and Sarah Snook’s The Picture of Dorian Gray, it may be tempting to look at challenging classics and attempt to take them on as an individual. It is also quite a challenging piece and Izzard stumbles a few times over lines, pausing and quickly restarting when needed. She has nothing to fall back on as there are no other performers or even any props that can be used to distract from these mistakes. 

Izzard’s Hamlet truly thrives in its more comedic moments, which is expected from the celebrated comedian, but the more serious monologues, especially “To be, or not to be,” are treated with care and have an impact in the show. While these moments are strong, Izzard often fails to give each of the characters defining features or tones that allow the audience to tell them apart, making it difficult when it comes to scenes with many characters and Izzard quickly jumping between them. There is a hilarious bit, however, in which Izzard portrays Rosencrantz and Guildenstern as hand puppets, portraying them a level below the more developed characters, puppets of others.

A highlight of the show is its final scene, in which Hamlet and Laertes fight. As Izzard is playing both characters, the scene becomes a one-sided rapier fight, with the actress jumping from side to side, swiping at the air and reacting as the hits land. These moments of action tend to be the most impactful as Izzard is able to use both her body and her voice to emphasise the points being made by Shakespeare, including ones in which she walks into the audience, honouring the street performer origins of plays of the past.

Ultimately, Eddie Izzard: Hamlet is an interesting take on the iconic Shakespeare work, but it fails to add anything to the play, only existing as a vehicle for Izzard to perform another solo show.  

Eddie Izzard: Hamlet runs from 5 to 30 June at Riverside Studios. For more information and tickets please click here.