The Play’s The Thing: A One-Person Hamlet is the brainchild of director Fiona Laird and actor Mark Lockyer. It takes Shakespeare’s iconic revenge tragedy, which is also his longest play, and turns it into a 100-minute showcase of mental extremes. Galvanised by Lockyer’s own mental health journey, which saw him triumphantly bounce back from homelessness, addiction, and a bipolar diagnosis that gave new clarity to the events of his life, in this show he creatively delves into these experiences and brings up treasures.
The concept of a one-man Hamlet, in itself, is inspired. After all, this soliloquy-obsessed play is fundamentally concerned with psychological examination. And at times the production has the feel of a fever dream in which Hamlet is compulsively reliving past traumas. For what better way for the prince to attempt to understand the motivations of the nefarious and dim-witted denizens of the Denmark court than to step into their skins? And this Lockyer does superbly. With the swagger of a peacock, he is Claudius, walking around like he smells inferiority with no twinge of moral compunction. As Polonius, he is less the flummoxed statesman but rather a tyrant father, dispensing his wisdom like biblical commandments and intolerant of hot-blooded, youthful flirtations. His Ophelia is smugly coquettish, calling out the hypocrisies of her brother Laertes while seductively stroking her hair. The only character that felt underdeveloped was Gertrude, who didn’t have any notable response to the behaviour of her grieving son and his erratic outbursts.
Lockyer finds the most natural kinship with Hamlet. Vocally he draws out the prince’s acute sense of betrayal with strained tones and breathless exasperation. When required to be witty, his thoughts are shaped like knives, and their utterance is played as an act of attack. Unfortunately, in key soliloquies such as ‘To be or not to be’, Lockyer’s pacing occasionally lapsed, meaning that Hamlet’s contemplation of suicide wasn’t given enough emotional power. I suspect this is due to the fact the speech was snipped away at to save time. This editing error overlooked the fact that in such a compact speech, one line necessarily hinges on another in terms of meaning and rhythmic effect. Otherwise, adaptor Fiona Laird does a masterful job in condensing the play’s sprawling script, ensuring narrative coherence and making every irony glint throughout.
As the production’s focus is on the movements of the mind, designer Anthony Lamble appropriately keeps the stage empty. ‘Now I am alone,’ Lockyer’s Hamlet pronounces, and the audience is directly made to feel this desolation. All that lies within sight is a long red arras – a bit of light teasing for those who know the play (and Polonius’s fate) because alas, in a missed opportunity, it was not used. Nevertheless, the magisterial Wilton’s Music Hall, an eighteenth-century space made up of carved gilded balconies and peeling walls, makes for a decadent Denmark that is coming apart from its foundations.
Tim Mitchell’s lighting adds a further layer of drama. During Hamlet’s soliloquies a single spotlight illuminates Lockyer’s face, suggesting the intensity of the prince’s thoughts and signalling his brief moments of clarity. Just as striking is the use of the footlights, which Lockyer towers over as he plays the ghost of Old Hamlet. This throws a hulking shadow across the ceiling, generating all the frisson and gothic terror of a Hammer movie.
All in all, this production is a fine take on Hamlet, showcasing Mark Lockyer’s chameleon talents and the imaginative richness inherent in Shakespeare’s words. It is more for the aficionado than the novice; indeed, to not get befuddled by the extensive cast of characters, you’ll need some prior knowledge. But it’s certainly a thrilling experience, perhaps even a once-in-a-lifetime event – what a treat to see a top Shakespearean actor at the height of his powers completely rethinking the parameters of a classic text.
The Play’s The Thing: A One Person Hamlet
Written by William Shakespeare
Directed and Adapted by Fiona Laird
Photo credits: Peter Mould
Cast: Mark Lockyer
Until: Saturday 12th April 2025
Running Time: 100 minutes with no interval
Review by Olivia Hurton
2nd April 2025