Rosencrantz and Guildernstern review, Haymarket Theatre

Tom Stoppard's plays are full of glorious conceits. Rosencrantz and Guildernstern Are Dead is no different.  His first performed play, the excitement and energy of a new writer is apparent in the speed with which words and ideas trip over each other until you're dizzy with it.  What are we all doing here and what does it mean?  It's a bit like Waiting for Godot, except that's an examination of human fallibility through stops and starts. Here the unlikely duo fill the silences rather than ride them.

To be or not to be, too many questions

The conceit is that Stoppard has turned Rosencrantz and Guildernstern - throw away characters from Hamlet - into real people as innocent and inter-changeable as their bit-part in Shakespeare suggests. Scenes from Hamlet  happen around us, the boys confused by their own place within them. Also wrest from their Shakespearian comfort zone are the players, whose prophetic drama fingers Hamlet's uncle as a killer. Here, they wander the lanes penniless, offering live sex shows for the price of bread.

Around the edges of the stage (at the Festival Theatre, Chichester, before the transfer to London), Gertrude, Ophelia and the women of the Danish court shimmer by. Our heroes, though, are in modern dress, timeless in their search for meaning. The performances are terrific. Samuel Barnett as an infantilised Rosencrantz is beguiling, and Jamie Parker is solid as the questing, questioning Guildernstern.  If only there were fewer questions! Chris Mellon is a charismatic lead Player and Jack Hawkins in a Stoppard bit-part is luminescent as Hamlet. 

In conclusion:  A terrific Trevor Nunn production; a must for Stoppard fans. For the rest, it's a bit like visiting an aunty who's made your favourite pudding and keeps refilling your bowl. What starts as a treat ends up as a bit of a torture.

References

Rosencrantz and Guildernstern is now at the Haymarket Theatre, London

Charles Spencer in the Daily Telegraph (2 stars)

Michael Billington in The Guardian (4 stars)