Ashton Hall, St Stephens, Edinburgh
McKellen is the only speaker in Peter Schaufuss’s eccentric but witless adaptation of Hamlet as narrative ballet
Might we be missing some of Hamlet’s advice to the players? Did Shakespeare’s words of wisdom get lost over the years? Perhaps, for example, there was a bit that went: “Whatever you do, don’t try this as narrative ballet – even when you’ve got a knight of the realm in the cast.”
Such a tip would have spared us this eccentric staging by director and choreographer Peter Schaufuss, whose Edinburgh Festival Ballet has taken residence in a freshly kitted-out St Stephens. His big draw, of course, is Sir Ian McKellen, who first played Hamlet at the Edinburgh King’s in 1971.
At Ashton Hall, St Stephens, Edinburgh, until 28 August.
