Welcome to a glam rock musical of infinite jest: Hamlet in space, with a green alien Polonius, airlock accidents, and a chorus line of floating puppets.
If you thought that Bad Quarto was a step too far, then you should stay light years from this knowingly ridiculous ‘adaptation’ of Shakespeare’s greatest tragedy.
Lucas Fox is a gloriously charismatic Claudius, teasing Nic Gordon’s feisty but feckless Hamlet that he wants “to be his Daddy”.
Gordon relishes the role, which positions the Sweet Prince as a stroppy late-teenage mummy’s boy who barely picked up a sword, but has learnt the (definitely not, for copyright reasons) Force. Jo Myer’s costumery gives him more than a hint of Han Solo.
Ruby Bardewell-Dix is a sunny and light Ophelia, at least to begin with, and their duelling duet with Gordon a highlight of the show. She is also paired effectively in another number with Lauren Bryant’s Gertude, leading to a semi-girl power shift that sees Ophelia survive (albeit temporarily) and Layertes (Elle Overvoorde) cast out into space.
Shem Jacobs appears as the dead King Ham in a recorded holographic transmission played by a robot Guildenbot (Acer Smith) – where have I seen that before? – but they shine more in their many supporting, shooping and puppeteering away.
The eight strong cast is rounded off by Amy Beven, who opens and closes the show as Hamlet’s pal Horatio, with a peppy performance and the show’s title track.
The show’s book is co-written by Daniel Sturman and RC Staab, with plenty of witty rhyming couplets – if not that many iambic pentameters. The Hamlet plot is worn extremely lightly, with surprise nods to Macbeth and Henry IV Part II thrown in for good measure. Everyone still dies, but there are a lot more laughs along the way in this two-hour traffic than in the Bard’s mammoth slaughterfest.
There seemed to be a few lighting issues on the first night of this premiere run, but nothing to spoil the enjoyment, with April Nash’s direction mostly on point. A few moments seem to itch for some panto-style audience engagement, but I can understand resisting that urge.
If you enjoyment of Shakespeare is going to be spoilt by tractor beams then this isn’t the show for you. If you’re happy to just enjoy the ride, buckle up and get ready to be transported to a galaxy of fun.
- Space Hamlet continues at Norwich Puppet Theatre until Saturday, 9 August 2025, tickets £12-16.
