How deliciously irresistible to see this presented in Oxford in the same week as the ‘real’ Hamlet (currently playing at Blackwell’s Bookshop), since this is an audacious ‘pre-quel’ - set ten years before Shakespeare’s play when Hamlet, Laertes, Ophelia etc., are still in their teens.  It would be a splendid hors d’oeuvre - or even snackette - at only fifty minutes to whet your appetite for the big banquet (Hamlet uncut runs to about four hours – luckily for us The Factory have snipped about an hour and a quarter out of it for the Blackwell's show), though it was equally intriguing to watch it afterwards, with the Bard still fresh in one’s mind. First of all, much praise to the actors, all of whom are actual teenagers. It was a magnificently physical production, with some menacing dances that economically demonstrated the state of gender relations in early modern Denmark, plus absolutely top notch and first rate fight sequences, which I have rarely seen equalled in grown-up productions, all superbly choreographed with fencing sabres. This includes the climactic duel, fought with buttons off and no protective clothing – we hope they manage to get through all the performances without skewering one another.

The play itself was entirely plausible as an extrapolation from what we know of the characters in Hamlet.  Ask yourself: why on earth was Hamlet spending years studying at Wittenberg if he’s the heir to the throne? He has to be at least twenty seven or so in the ‘real’ Hamlet, if he can remember Yorick, and Yorick has been in the ground for twenty three years, as the grave-digger claims. Prince of Denmark accounts for the gap with an exile imposed on him for offences which it proceeds to show us. We never get to see the grown-ups – it’s all about the teenagers and their intense and convoluted relationships. Laertes, whose voluntary offer to help Claudius polish off Hamlet by poisoning the tip of his sword never comes across as quite honourable, is here portrayed as an ambitious social climber and manipulator. He’s concerned about Hamlet’s initial dalliance with his sister, not only because he doubts that Hamlet has honourable intentions towards a girl of inferior birth, but also because it interferes with his own plans to marry her off to nice-but-dim Osric. He resents Hamlet for being destined to rule when he himself would be so much better at it, and speculates what would happen if Hamlet were out of the picture. Hamlet himself is superbly ambiguous. He gets on badly with his distant father, who has spent most of his reign waging war on other countries.  He feels trapped in the role of prince, since it means that he is followed and flattered and lied to by everyone, but at the same time he doesn’t much enjoy hearing the truth, and he’s not above the occasional ‘I am a doctor and I want my sausages’ moment. Ophelia is a naturally truthful girl, genuinely attracted to Hamlet (which is not surprising in this case by the way), fond of her brother but annoyed by his plotting, still capable of spontaneity and genuine feeling. Interesting also to see the earlier versions of Rosencranz, Guildenstern, Horatio, Raynoldo and Osric. It’s clear early on that these characters are heading for a spectacular train-wreck, and the resolution is very cleverly and satisfactorily worked out. Thoroughly recommended.

One small production niggle: the chairs were placed facing forwards, but quite a lot of the action took place in the aisle, which meant the audience had to turn around to see it, then finding the lights shining directly into their eyes.  Bit annoying.