Hamlet, The Musical is a funny romp based on Shakespeare’s Hamlet.
The opening number, “Danish Blues”, sets up the production and introduces the actors. Hamlet Senior complains that he is here because of the Catholicism of the country, subjecting him to purgatory. It hits all of the plot-points while eliciting as much fun and humour as possible.
Some of the songs use the same music, while its highlight number, “To Be Or Not To Be”, is the most engaging and memorable. The production team must know this as it is repeated, in Danish, at the curtain call.
But this is very much the production of two years ago. What it lacks in originality and variety in the music it much makes up for in its book and the energy of the actors.
Writers Alex Silverman, Timothy Knapman and Edward Jaspers have relied on the cast to keep the production fresh. But, “you cannot make an Hamlet without breaking a few eggs”.