This January, cinemas opened their doors to the National Theatre’s live recording of Robert Hastie’s Hamlet. First performed in September 2025 at the Lytellon theatre, this play is now accessible to audiences in the UK and beyond. In recording Hastie’s take on one of Shakespeare’s most famed tragedies, his flaunting of contemporary fashions becomes all the more noticeable with a zoomed-in lens.
These stylings include guns, suits, bleach blonde hair and even black nail varnish for his protagonist. In the text, Shakespeare dramatises the aftermath of Claudius’ (Hamlet’s uncle) rise to the throne through the usurpation of Hamlet’s father, the deceased king of Denmark. Trapped in a purgatory-like space, King Hamlet visits his son, the Prince of Denmark, telling him that Claudius was in fact his killer, and requesting revenge.
Determined to give his father this justice, Hamlet feigns madness which, in true tragic form, results in the death of Hamlet, Claudius, Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude, and his lover, Ophelia. Of course, the production of Hamlet in the modern world allows for its more chilling plot points to thrive. Lit only with a torch light, Ryan Ellsworth’s acting is not for the faint of heart as he performs one of the most starkly realistic renditions of King Hamlet’s ghostly apparition, only amplified in a silent, dark cinema.
Increasingly common, this production follows the trend of blind casting — the play ignores Shakespeare’s disability, race and gender constrictions, instead opting for the most effective and charismatic actors. This directive choice allows Hastie to bend the book, highlighting some of Hamlet’s hidden humour: from Ophelia’s macarena-like twerk routine to the irony of Claudius. The cast of this production perform phenomenally.
Francesca Mills’ performance as Ophelia (The Witcher: Blood Origin) is striking, not only in her moving presentation of Ophelia’s madness but also in the infectious liveliness which she brings to the character. The depiction of her bonds with her father, Polonius (Geoffrey Streatfeild) and brother, Laertes (Tom Glenister), feels believable and warm. This dynamic, then, allows Laertes’ later revenge to unfold more engagingly, in a sequence of fencing where his blood becomes remarkably stark against their white breeches.
While not without its flaws, this Hamlet is a compelling production
Tessa Wong’s performance as Hortio proves similarly emotionally gripping, her raw sobs as she mourns Hamlet and considers suicide underscoring the play’s bleak closing tone. The final scene had a more varying impact, though. Lost to the chaotic drama and heated combat, the scene seems to skip over Gertrude’s, the Queen of Denmark’s, death.
Hamlet leans into the typical downfall of acted death, with Ayesha Dharker speaking and moving energetically until her final breath, despite dying of poison. While not without its flaws, this Hamlet is a compelling production with something to offer for both seasoned Shakespeare audiences and viewers new to his tragedies.