"Wild and whirling words" Horatio, Act 1 Scene 5

Mark Rylance’s Hamlet was a very troubled prince, disabled by despair and veering between gloomy introspection and violent outbursts. When he confronted Rebecca Saire in the ‘Get Thee to a Nunnery’ scene, Rylance was explosively brutal, spitting in her face and using the moisture to rub off her makeup. Later, he ended his tempestuous encounter in Gertrude’s bedroom by kissing his mother on the mouth, more like a lover than a dutiful son.

SETTING HAMLET

Instead of a Danish castle, director Ron Daniels set his Hamlet in a mansion high up on a cliff overlooking a tempestuous sea, which echoed the inner turmoil of the play’s key characters. This concept was realised vividly in Antony McDonald's set designs: “an expressionistic clash between sloping floors and tilted walls, as if the court were in danger of imminent collapse” John Peters, Sunday Times, 30 April 1989.

DESIGNING THE COSTUMES FOR HAMLET

Antony McDonald’s costumes for Mark Rylance reflected Hamlet’s changing mental state. At the beginning of the production, Hamlet wore a ceremonial outfit as befits a prince at court. His costume consisted of a short dark jacket, waistcoat, white shirt and formal trousers. For some scenes he also wore a tightly buttoned long heavy overcoat.

Ophelia (Rebecca Saire) was also dressed formally in the court scenes, wearing a grey-green satin dress gown with cape, while the court officials wore modern anonymous dark suits. The smart appearance of Hamlet at the beginning contrasted sharply with the soiled striped pyjamas and singlet that he wore after his encounter with the Ghost on the battlements.

In the rehearsal notes for 29 March 1989, a meeting was requested between Mark Rylance and designer Antony McDonald to discuss pyjamas and dressing gowns, so clearly this was an important design concept.

FOCUS ON KEY SCENES

Here we take a look in more detail at two key scenes in Ron Daniels' 1989 production: the staging of 'The Mousetrap' (the play-within-the-play in Act 3 Scene 2) and the Closet Scene (Act 3 Scene 4), where Hamlet confronts his mother Gertrude.

BEDROOM DRAMA

“Mother, you have my father much offended.” Hamlet, Act 3 Scene 4

One of the most harrowing scenes in the production was when Hamlet (Mark Rylance) confronted his mother (Claire Higgins) in her bedroom, having just killed Polonius accidentally. The enraged Hamlet forced Gertrude to compare photos of his late father and Claudius, her new husband, before spitting at the image of the latter.

KILLING POLONIUS

The killing of the concealed Polonius presented some technical challenges including where would he be killed, how would the blood be produced and which weapon Hamlet would use. In rehearsals, the idea was explored that Polonius could hide in the bulky bed clothes of Gertrude’s bed but this was obviously changed later as cue one on page 146 of prompt book for the Royal Shakespeare Theatre refers to Polonius hiding under the bed USL (Upper Stage Left).

Director Ron Daniels suggested in rehearsals that blood could be produced from pre-bloodied sheets with a small blood pouch, possibly on Polonius, which Hamlet could use to wipe his hands. The use of a kitchen knife as the murder weapon was also suggested during this rehearsal period.

QUICK CHANGE

Russell Enoch played both the First Player and the Ghost which meant he had about 20 minutes between his exit in 'The Mousetrap' scene (Act 3 Scene 2) and his spectral appearance in Gertrude’s bedroom in Act 3 Scene 4.