Reviewer: Elise Gallagher

Upstaged Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Winner of the Kenneth Branagh New Drama Writing Award, Waiting for Hamlet is a play set in purgatory. King Hamlet and his fool Yorick find themselves ghoulish spectators waiting for a cause.

King Hamlet has arrived freshly murdered by his brother whilst Yorick has occupied the place for over twenty years, keeping watch. Having failed to open the door to both heaven and hell King Hamlet is insistent on going back to the other side, only Yorick isn’t so sure. 

Both Tim Marriott (King Hamlet) and Nicholas Collett (Yorick) give fantastic performances.

Marriott’s King Hamlet is ludicrous and self-centered, likening himself to Christ whilst Collett portrays a wise fool. Throughout the course of the play, you soon wonder whether the jester’s hat is sitting on the wrong head. 

Both Tim Marriott (King Hamlet) and Nicholas Collett (Yorick) give fantastic performances.

The duo are immediately in character upon arrival, providing the perfect match to one another, verbally sparring. Quite like how you might imagine limbo, the stage is bare and sparse with just a small amount of boxes the characters sometimes sit on, exasperated with the other. 

With well over 4,000 lines and around 30,000 words, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s longest play. However, with a running time of only 50 minutes, this arguable prequel covers a lot of ground. 

David Visick’s script is undoubtedly the star of the show – within such a short space of time the duo’s after-life commentary spans and loops around topics such as politics, religion, nature and hierarchy, sometimes stepping into the realm of poetry. However, it is important to note that a good script can only truly shine with an equal performance. Marriott and Collett rise to the challenge with ease.

David Visick’s script is undoubtedly the star of the show.

It made me smile to think that King Hamlet’s famous speech from beyond the grave actually came from his ex-jester’s mind.

This understated play is a love letter to the bard, a masterclass in how to bring a new dimension into a well-known tale and ultimately, a demonstration of how to find the comedy in one of Shakespeare’s most famous tragedies.

-Elise Gallagher

The Summer Shakespeare Festival runs at GOAT Mcr (Great Open Air Theatre, Manchester) situated in the amphitheatre at the Great Northern Warehouse, 235 Deansgate until 15 August 2021.