The reviews are in for The Last Hamlet, Lost Dog's dance-theatre take on Shakespeare, which ends its short run at Sadler's Wells East tonight. Ben Duke plays a prince whose show has been cancelled and who is allowed one last performance on a reduced budget, with soft toys standing in for most of the court, alongside dancers Hannah Shepherd and Miguel Altunaga and the singer Anna B Savage. The critics are agreed on the wit and the invention. Where they part company is on whether the evening holds together: Lyndsey Winship in The Guardian gives it five stars, while several of her colleagues find it loses its grip in the later stages.
3.9 / 5 from 4 criticsThe verdict: six reviews so far, four of them with a star rating: five stars from The Guardian, four from The Reviews Hub, three and a half from London Unattached and three from Bachtrack, an average of 3.9 out of 5. The Observer and Seeing Dance give no rating. All six enjoy the invention of Ben Duke's soft-toy staging. Where they disagree is over the second half, which more than one critic feels runs out of road, and over how much room the production really gives Ophelia.
What are critics saying about The Last Hamlet?
The Guardian
"This extraordinary new Hamlet turns Shakespeare inside out with infinite jest – and cuddly toys"
Reviewer: Lyndsey Winship
The warmest notice of the run. Winship credits Duke with a gift for turning old texts on their heads, finds the show funny and painful by turns, and picks out Hannah Shepherd's plain-speaking Ophelia and the songs of Anna B Savage.
"The show is full of detail and rich with ideas. It’s all very meta, very clever, very funny…"
She allows that it is a little pleased with itself, but decides it has earned the right.
The Reviews Hub
"Iconoclastic, Intelligent, Intriguing."
Reviewer: Chris Lilly
For Lilly the real novelty is an Ophelia who answers back, and he finds Shepherd strong and characterful in the part. He also enjoyed the dance numbers set to pop songs, the video work and the comedy of Duke's sagging onesie.
"This is a complex, compelling think-piece that benefits from lots of humour, a crackerjack design, and some lovely dancing."
He adds that it will not be to every taste.
London Unattached
Reviewer: Teresa Guerreiro
Guerreiro admires the way Duke keeps a show that feels anarchic tightly under control, and singles out Soutra Gilmour's wall of cardboard boxes and Will Duke's video design. The first half-hour had her laughing out loud.
"…The Last Hamlet began to sag a little and to lose its grip, despite a characteristic tour de force central performance by Duke."
She enjoyed it on the whole, but ranks it below the company's earlier work.
Bachtrack
"Lost Dog’s The Last Hamlet: plenty of wit and invention"
Reviewer: Zoë Anderson
Anderson places it squarely in Lost Dog's tradition of wrestling with the classics, and her high point is the Year 7 disco scene for Gertrude and Claudius, which she finds both very funny and painfully exact.
"Though there’s plenty of wit and invention, the central dilemma doesn’t land."
Her complaint is that the show opens up its questions about misogyny and cancellation and then leaves them, with Hamlet's father more symbol than person and Ophelia kept in a supporting role.
The Observer
"Lost Dog’s The Last Hamlet – Shakespeare, soft toys and shambolic charm"
Reviewer: Sarah Crompton
Crompton enjoys the gentle comedy of the opening and the way Jackie Shemesh's lighting and the video projections darken the mood as the evening goes on. She has high praise for the two dancers, and for Shepherd's furious closing solo as Ophelia.
"Intriguing and engaging though it is, it doesn’t quite heed its own lesson."
Her wish is for more of the dancing, which she finds says more than the words do.
Seeing Dance
"The trouble with being Hamlet"
Reviewer: Zoë Hewitt
Hewitt likes the mischief in Duke's handling of the verse, which his Hamlet reaches for whenever real life defeats him, and a childhood trio for Duke, Shepherd and Altunaga that she finds beautifully economical.
"His portrayal of Hamlet’s father, hidden beneath a lion-skull mask and an oversized military coat, is a masterclass in physical characterisation."
She feels the production loses energy in its last stretch, and leaves knowing less about Ophelia than about the man she displaces.
For more dance at Sadler's Wells, see our roundups of Dickson Mbi Company's Tellus, which also played Sadler's Wells East, and Acosta Danza's Cuban Baroque at Sadler's Wells.
The Last Hamlet gives its final performance at Sadler's Wells East tonight, 7 November.
For more information, visit the official website.
