No excuses can hide the criminal actions of a Nazi fellow-traveller in this admirably objective documentary, suggests MARTIN HALL
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Against a sea of troubles
GORDON PARSONS is bowled over by a skilfully stripped down and powerfully relevant production of Hamlet
CLASSIC: Luke Thallon (centre) as Hamlet
PAUL DONOVAN relishes a fascinating exploration of the leading lights of the Labour right in the 1970s
BEN LUNN alerts us to the creeping return of philanthropy and private patronage, and suggests alternative paths to explore
A novel by Argentinian Jorge Consiglio, a personal dictionary by Uruguayan Ida Vitale, and poetry by Mexican Homero Aridjis
MIK SABIERS savours the first headline solo show of the stalwart of Brighton’s indie-punk outfit Blood Red Shoes
New releases reviewed by IAN SINCLAIR
STEVEN ANDREW is moved beyond words by a historical account of mining in Britain made from the words of the miners themselves
Hamlet
The Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
THERE are as many Hamlets as there are actors who play the part or directors who shape the play. Rupert Gould’s two-and-a-half-hour production has skilfully stripped down Shakespeare’s longest play to its essentials. In doing so he has delivered the most powerful production of the many I have seen since Buzz Goodbody’s with Ben Kingsley’s tortured prince in 1975.
Here Elsinore’s battlements have been translated into the forecastle of an ocean liner. The published date, 1912, and the Edwardian-costumed passengers only need the atmosphere of gnawing depression of Luke Thallon’s grieving Hamlet to conjure up the folk memory of the Titanic disaster.
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