★★★★

“revitalises the classic tragedy, landing with surprising warmth and clarity”

“The play’s the thing” and National Theatre Live remains one of the finest ways to share theatre widely. Kicking off the 2026 programme is ‘Hamlet’, captured from the Lyttelton Theatre run in 2025. Robert Hastie’s refreshingly modern production thrills, chills and fizzes with life, offering theatre devotees and casual viewers alike a compellingly atmospheric start to the new year.

The King is dead and Prince Hamlet suspects foul play. But in a world thick with treachery and madness, will the players hold their course or be pulled under?

Shakespeare’s haunting poetry is re energised as a vivid study of grief and emotional unravelling, balanced by surprising warmth and humour. Robert Hastie’s direction is assured and electrifying. The genuinely unsettling opening scene sets the tone, with ominous lighting, sound and even poltergeist jolts continuing to disturb the peace. Almost all the major characters receive a pleasingly layered interpretation. We lean into Hamlet’s ‘madness’, soliloquising beyond Elsinore’s physical bounds, firing real shots from an imagined gun, and communing with a sometimes-absent ghost, all the while disguising his deterioration with levity and biting quips. Claudius is unexpectedly sympathetic, displaying calm resolve and even genuine concern. His confession feels searching and his death becomes a defiant surrender rather than a forced poisoning. Ophelia’s arc shifts from romantic heartbreak to the crushing weight of her father’s murder, helped by a warmly awkward, devoted Polonius. Gertrude is the only major role that feels comparatively under developed. Overall, the production excels in emotional clarity, landing every line with purpose.

Ira Mandela Siobhan’s movement direction and Kate Waters’ fight choreography drive the energy, delivering slick, realistic sequences that culminate in a final duel brimming with passion.

Richard Taylor’s superb score moves from eerie, unsettling textures to frantic orchestrations, using silence as deftly as sound. The offstage Carducci quartet (Matthew Denton, Michelle Fleming, Eoin Schmidt-Martin, Emma Denton) deserve praise for their masterful execution.

Ben Stones’ set and costume design has a ‘Saltburn’ esque blend of grandeur and bleakness, balancing imposing scale with striking simplicity. When the set unexpectedly deconstructs for Ophelia’s funeral, it exposes the superficiality of Elsinore’s stateliness – simple yet richly layered.

Jessica Hung Han Yun’s lighting is superb, shifting effortlessly between psychological states. Opening in darkness with sparse torchlight infuses powerlessness and mistrust. Pulses of light sync perfectly with eerie glissandos, deepening the haunted atmosphere.

Alexandra Faye Braithwaite’s sound design captures the sense of isolation beautifully, though a little background noise from over sensitive mics creeps into the final mix.

Hiran Abeysekera delivers a remarkable Hamlet, embodying the Prince with clarity, precision and surprising sparkle, and holds focus throughout – no mean feat on a stage let alone a screen! Alistair Petrie’s Claudius is equally compelling, a masterclass in understatement. For once, I find myself sympathising. Francesca Mills’ Ophelia is funny, grounded and utterly real in a role that’s too often flattened. Tom Glenister’s Laertes is the perfect match, showing us true grief. Geoffrey Streatfeild’s Polonius is unexpectedly endearing, making his death quietly devastating. Aside from Ayesha Dharker’s slightly enigmatic Gertrude and a few stylised turns here and there, the ensemble is outstanding, breathing life into the oppressive Elsinore.

Not forgetting the production teams for this recording, the filming and editing do real justice to the performance.

National Theatre Live’s ‘Hamlet’ revitalises the classic tragedy, landing with surprising warmth and clarity. You’ll see the play in a new light, so catch it in cinemas while you can.

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

★★★★

“Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming”

It takes its time, but the moment the curtain comes down on Mrs Harris you’ll be purring like the cat who has had more than its fair share of cream. As she stands centre stage with the memory of her late husband, we realise that the gaping hole in her heart has been filled, in the same way that ours are overflowing with warmth, born of the simple acts of kindness, love and selfless compassion. When Paul Gallico’s the novella – “Flowers for Mrs Harris” – was first published in 1958 its dust jacket read; ‘This is, if you like, a fairy tale. But of its enchantment, humour and pathos there can be no doubt… it will be loved for many years to come’.

Similar words would not be out of place in the programme notes for Richard Taylor’s and Rachel Wagstaff’s musical. Set in London during the 1950s, Ada Harris (or ‘Arris as she would say) is a hard-working cleaning lady whose clients range from eligible bachelors and society women to actresses. While cleaning for Lady Dant, Mrs Harris opens a wardrobe to discover an Haute Couture Dior dress. Enamoured and overwhelmed, she decides then and there that she will have one of her own. After a modest Football Pools win and two-and-a-half years of scrimping, her desire is achievable.

But this is never really about the dress. It is all about the human spirit. Ada Harris’ journey to Paris and back is not a material voyage, nor even a pilgrimage. It is a personal quest – of triumph over adversity and the discovery of qualities we all seek and do in fact possess if we look hard enough. This is very much brought out in Bronagh Lagan’s tender revival of the musical. Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming. Old school charm is the name of the game here. Russell’s performance is a delicacy whose rich flavours linger long after curtain call.

“a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion”

It is a quality that is shared by the whole company. While Russell is the main thread, the ensemble double up as characters from Ada Harris’ London life and also their French counterparts in Paris. There is almost a ‘Wizard of Oz’ aspect to this parallel world where the characters are distinct yet recognisable. Hal Fowler is magnificent as the reassuring ghost of Ada’s late husband, later appearing as the widowed French Marquis who finds common ground with Ada’s yearning humour. Charlotte Kennedy is truly watchable as the London based aspiring actress and the disillusioned Parisian model. It seems unfair not to be able to list them all, but mention must go to Nathanael Campbell as Bob the lovesick, shy accountant whose character is mirrored in Paris by André who finds love courtesy of Ada’s spirited intervention. Annie Wensak gives a colourfully nuanced performance as Ada’s best friend, fellow char lady and next-door neighbour Violet.

Kelly Price is the deliciously haughty yet compassionate Lady Dant, whose dress sparks off the whole story. As Madame Colbert, the troubled manager at the House of Dior, her performance is as polished as the House of Dior itself. Initially snubbing the unwelcome Ada, she and other Parisian personalities swiftly come under the spell of Ada and her magic wand. If anything, though, it is too quick and easy and the transformation of the staff at the fashion house a little hurried, which stands out in an otherwise slow-burning narrative. But it is a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion. Seamlessly weaving in and out of the dialogue it is the essential flow that keeps the characters’ hearts beating.

Yes, this is ‘if you like, a fairy tale’. And we are in no doubt about its enchantment. A touch sentimental and safe maybe, but the warmest and most comforting antidote you could find for the oncoming autumnal evenings. Oh, and a hidden star of the show that can’t be avoided: Sara Perks’ costumes would walk proud on any Parisian catwalk*.

*The Dior gowns in the show were kindly loaned by Lez Brotherston from the original production

Tag Archives: Richard Taylor

HAMLET

★★★★

In Cinemas

HAMLET

In Cinemas

★★★★

“revitalises the classic tragedy, landing with surprising warmth and clarity”

HAMLET

National Theatre Live – In Cinemas from 22nd January 2026

Reviewed on 9th January 2026

by Hannah Bothelton

Photography by Sam Taylor

Hamlet

Hamlet

Hamlet

Flowers for Mrs Harris

★★★★

Riverside Studios

FLOWERS FOR MRS HARRIS at the Riverside Studios

★★★★

“Jenna Russell slips into the title role as though it was tailor made for her, giving a performance that is as strong as it appears unassuming”

“a sumptuous production, with Richard Taylor’s lush score eking out every emotion”