Katie Barr
Hamlet: The Rest is Silence isn’t your everyday Shakespeare revival. This reimagined, community-led version of the Bard’s famous tragedy was staged in collaboration with the Royal Shakespeare Company and Theatre Royal Concert Hall Nottingham as part of the Shakespeare Nation programme. The result? A heartfelt, occasionally uneven, but undeniably sincere performance that trades polish for passion.
This production was crafted by, with, and for the community. The performers and their voices – literally and creatively – shaped the adaptation which reimagined this play through physical storytelling, ensemble work, and clever use of sound and space. This production emerged from months of collaborative exploration, with every scene, gesture, and line shaped by the insights of the diverse cast. 
The set, sound, and costume design took its cues from the Concert Hall’s impressive acoustics. With mirrored trees and fractured motifs evoking psychological fragmentation, the visual world leaned towards symbolism – though at times, its minimalism verged on sparseness. The grandeur of the Concert Hall, while visually striking, presented practical challenges. It’s vast stage – designed for orchestra’s not spoken word – demanded vocal confidence that the mixed-experience cast couldn’t always sustain. Soliloquies, especially, occasionally lost their weight in the hall’s echoing architecture.
Yet there were moments of undeniable power – particularly when the production embraced silence with the same intention as speech. Director Rebecca Morris fully exploited the play’s sonic possibilities, using breath, pause, and ambient textures to draw the audience into its emotional terrain. The Rest is Silence became a dramaturgical principle, shaping the production’s atmosphere and rhythm.
CHARACTERS LIKE OPHELIA AND FORTINBRAS WERE EXPANDED MEANINGFULLY, GIVING VOICES TO THOSE SHAKESPEARE OFTEN LEFT IN THE MARGINS
Narratively, the show took liberties that felt both refreshing and divisive. Familiar lines were reframed or omitted with the intention of avoiding audience detachment due to overfamiliarity. Characters like Ophelia and Fortinbras were expanded meaningfully, giving voices to those Shakespeare often left in the margins. For first-time viewers, these choices likely added clarity; for devout fans of the bard, they may have diluted some iconic moments.
Performance wise, it was a varied ensemble which is be expected with such a diverse cast. Some actors found genuine emotional depth – Ophelia’s arc, in particular, stood out for its restrained and nuance – while others seemed to wrestle with the demands of verse and space. But what the production may have lacked in technical finesse, it more than made up for in commitment. The ensemble’s energy – ever present, always watching – created a compelling, dynamic setting where no action went unnoticed. Tuesday’s ensemble, with several women in traditionally male roles, brought a fresh, often emotionally charged interpretation to the material. This format wasn’t a gimmick, it was an intentional exploration of gender and perspective, showcasing the elasticity of Shakespeare’s work and the capacity of community theatre to reimagine it.
IN THE END, THIS WAS A PRODUCTION DEFINED NOT BY TECHNICAL PERFECTION, BUT BY ETHOS […] APPROACHED THE MATERIAL WITH EVIDENT CARE. THEIR REFLECTIONS SPEAK OF GROWTH, JOY, CHALLENGE, AND TRANSFORMATION.
Actors within this cast shared roles and worked carefully with their counterparts throughout rehearsal, creating a collaborative ethos that was clearly reflected on stage. Some performances stood out: Aoife O’Neill as Hamlet brought a distinct personality to the role, one that was introspective and raw. Jess McWhirter’s portrayal of Ophelia also expands on the character’s emotional landscape beyond the original text. Fortinbras – often a minor character – was given real agency in this production, reappearing as a powerful, recurring figure rather than a final afterthought. Morris and Tom Morely deserve credit for shaping such a complex undertaking.
In the end, this was a production defined not by technical perfection, but by ethos. The cast, many of whom had never performed Shakespeare – or even a stage before – approached the material with evident care. Their reflections speak of growth, joy, challenge, and transformation. In the words of Hatty Hunt-Blow, who played Gertrude on Tuesday, notes this production has been ‘a fascinating series of discoveries which ultimately leads to a selfish, passionate, and nuanced queen, with a complex mother-daughter relationship with Hamlet’.
While this will not be the most professional production of Hamlet you’ll ever see, it is one with a profound amount of depth. In its willingness to experiment, to elevate new voices, and to make Shakespeare truly communal, it offers a compelling model for future work of its kind.
Katie Barr
Featured image courtesy of Alex Watkin. Permission to use granted to Impact. No changes were made to this image.
In-article image of the cast of Hamlet: The Rest is Silence is of the courtesy of the company, Community Production. No changes were made to this image.
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