Horatio & Hamlet
02 October 2024
Barons Court Theatre
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
Horatio & Hamlet, currently playing at the Barons Court Theatre until 12 October, is an adaptation of Hamlet unlike any other you’ve seen before. This two-hander focuses on the friendship between Hamlet and Horatio, adapting the text to zoom in on those moments that these two appear together on stage to examine their connection and the course of their friendship throughout the play.
With the small stage decorated like a standard student gaff, old sofa in the middle strewn with blanket pillows, towers of books piled up all over the floor, small kitchenette in one corner, a chess set in another, it feels like walking into Hamlet’s home, a young man’s refuge from a turbulent world. The cozy setup serves this play extremely well, serving to further the feeling of getting a glimpse into the private life of two friends, trying to maintain normalcy while one of them struggles with his mental health due to traumatic events happening within his family.
The original text is maintained closely, while being shifted extremely cleverly to focus on the few moments Horatio and Hamlet get to discuss their lives and connection on stage, slipping in a few solo-scenes for both characters to expose more details. This production is a very skillful shift of Hamlet, zooming into the titular character’s psyche to gain further insight into his struggles and motivations. Presenting pivotal moments of the play as interactions between life-long friends brings a new perspective without altering the original text much at all.
Even the costume choices and little nods that those very familiar with the play will recognize in the decor are very cleverly chosen, making Horatio & Hamlet feel familiar from the first moment, while spinning the script in new and unexpected ways. A gorgeous examination of two very well known characters to give them a stronger voice for themselves.
