"Hamlet: The Rest Is Silence" (Community Production).

Nottingham Royal Concert Hall.

This is a fresh way to stage Shakespeare by presenting the same play on two different days with two different casts with slight differences in the retelling of the story, by the newly created Shakespeare Nation, made possible due to the support of the Royal Shakespeare Company and funding from the Esmée Fairbairn Foundation and the Arts Council.

Following an encounter with the ghost of his murdered father, who reveals to him that he was murdered by his brother, Claudius, who then usurped the throne and married Gertrude, Hamlet's mother. Prince Hamlet of Denmark seeks to uncover the truth behind his untimely death. Hamlet feigns madness, contemplates revenge, and stages a play to test Claudius's guilt. The plot thickens when Hamlet accidentally kills Polonius, Ophelia's father, and is subsequently sent to England. Claudius and Laertes, Ophelia's brother, plot Hamlet's death, which is ultimately achieved in a duel where everyone, including Hamlet, dies. 

Now this may sound as if I have given spoilers to everything that happens here, but "Hamlet" is one of those plays that most people study at school, but this is the Shakespearian version of the story, so most people will be familiar with the main plot. With sections edited out and retold and reimagined sections blended in, this particular representation is quite unique, so don't think that the above plot is what you have seen or heard before. This production is a unique take on a classic Shakespearian tragedy which included a slow jam rap as well as a nod to Bernard Cribbins.

As well as being a Community presentation, it's also an excellent ensemble. For someone like myself who is fortunate to get to see many productions, performed by many local and excellent actors, this was an absolute joy to see actors who I sometimes only see in musicals or panto perform Shakespeare, even if just a cameo role.

Hamlet is played by Aoife O' Neill (Laurence James-Davis on Wednesday).

Matt Swan plays Claudius (Richard Young on Wednesday).

Jess Ash McWhirter plays Ophelia (Lily Essex on Wednesday).

Gertrude is played by Hatty Hunt-Blow (Kate Martin on Wednesday).

Laertes is played by Sophie Small (George Davis on Wednesday).

Polonius is played by Michelle Arscrott (Karen Peckover on Wednesday).

Horatio is played by Emily Kelsey (George Lamb on Wednesday).

Guildenstern is played by Eden Silk (Ross Levy on Wednesday).

Rosencrantz is played by Reiss Jones (Roisin Kelly on Wednesday).

The Ghost of Hamlet's Father is played by Gurmej Virk (Pete Bone on Wednesday).

Fortinbras is played by Zoe Dryden (Louis Chadburn on Wednesday).

First Player is played by Holly Sismore (Mike Newbold on Wednesday).

Bernardo is played by Emma Smart (Suzy O' Connor on Wednesday).

Marcellus is played by Molly Swann (Kimberley Wells on Wednesday).

Francisco is played by Monica Dakin (Toni Tailor-Bird on Wednesday)

The Gravediggers are played by Lis Hipkiss and Joe Palmer, who also double as a Sailor and Reynaldo respectively. Alistair Littlewood and Joe Palmer play the same roles on Wednesday).

Voltimand and Doctor is played by Cibele Ponces-Alvarenga (Ashreen Seethal on Wednesday)

Cornelius and Luciana is played by Emily Giles (Charlotte Carter on Wednesday).

Player Queen and Captain is played by Paula Heeley (Laura Sheratt on Wednesday).

Many of the Wednesday cast also swell the ensemble in Tuesday's production as well.

This production is the only production of "Hamlet" that I've seen on stage and I was completely transfixed by the story as well as the acting which at times swung from pure passion and energy to wonderful comedy. I had read the play version a few years ago when my aim was to buy as many of Shakespeare's plays in book form to increase my knowledge of his work, as well as to further understand the language. That may have worked as I had absolutely no issues with understanding the language here.

What I also loved was the fact that there are so many of today's sayings and phrases are included within "Hamlet"; "To thine own self be true", "There are more things in heaven and earth", "Brevity is the soul of wit", "mind's eye", "neither a borrower nor a lender be", "to the manner born", "murder most foul" and of course the most famous "To be or not to be" speech. I did notice that the "Alas, poor Yorick" speech did omit the word "Alas". Maybe that was part of the edit!

Directed by Rebecca Morris with Associate Director being Tom Morley, the pace of the show is a lot faster than any production that you may have seen in the past. The original Shakespearian version is the longest of his plays at about four hours long. This version is half that length with much of the text edited to condense the story and action.

This production has been almost a year in the making with a diverse cast that includes actors who have been involved in various local theatre groups as well as some making their stage debuts, and what a stage to make a debut on, and such a big play.

It's not often that you see a production like this staged at the Royal Concert Hall, but the acoustics are really good. The Concert Hall is really for orchestras and concerts, not for plays, but the acoustics carry the  voice, helped by a few mics placed on stage, but I don't think any of the actors were mic'd up. I know that a few people near where I sat had a few issues hearing the actors, but I heard them loud and clear on the whole. The only problem was when any of the actors turned their back on the audience and the speech disappeared into the back of the stage.

Sound is by Ashley Simons and Paul Brooks who balanced the spoken word well with the music used behind the actors, I thought. In my opinion when the actors are not using mic packs on a stage the size of the Concert Hall, and it may be the first time that the sound operation is in full effect with bodies in the audience, this is the first time that you can truly get the sound balanced because the acoustics with an empty auditorium, with actors on stage, is completely different to when there is in audience in attendance due to the "sound bounce" as I like to call it; so this would have been the first time the sound engineers would have to tweak anything that may need tweaking, and I think they did a good job.

Lighting is by Rachel Elphick, who did a great job of creating atmosphere and spotting the actors.

The professional Lighting and Sound Team are Chris Grantham and Matt Beaumont.

Technical Director is Matt Day.

There are some great costumes in this show, some reminded me slightly of the modern Star Trek costumes, and the design for all the costumes are by Michelle Arscott and Emily Giles, with the Seamstress being Marine Moss.

Props by Michelle Cave.

Production Assistants are Heather Rice and Aly Stone.

Hopefully I've managed to cover everyone who helped bring this big reimagining of this play to the stage.

"Hamlet: The Rest Is Silence" has a matinee performance on Wednesday 11 June at 1.30pm.