Review of Isle of Wight theatre company Adlib's Hamlet

This experience came in handy when the weather forecast didn’t look too promising for Friday’s performance of Hamlet at Northwood House.

Ponchos at the ready, the show started a little earlier than planned but it went ahead and the weather, in many ways, reflected Hamlet’s character throughout the evening.

The occasional droplet of rain and dark clouds looming over replicated Hamlet’s indecision over whether or not to avenge his father’s murder in the first half of the play.

As the play reached its climax in the second half, it absolutely chucked it down! Who needs pathetic fallacy when you can have it in real life!

Tom Ferguson as Fortinbras.

Emily Scotcher delivered a strong central performance as the tormented Prince of Denmark.

Her Hamlet was more decisive, angry and frustrated than the mopey portrayal often seen on stage.

She delivered the famous lines with freshness that made these all too familiar words seem like they were spoken for the first time.

Emily Scotcher as Hamlet and Ches Checkley as Horatio. Jason Harris as Claudius and Patrick Barry as Laertes in the background.

There was a perfectly timed moment where the bells of the nearby church chimed in the distance as she delivered her ‘to be or not to be’ speech.

Bryony Bishop took us on an emotional rollercoaster as the ill-treated Ophelia. Her mad scene was one of the most powerful moments of the production. A poignant portrayal delivered with pathos.

Si Lynch’s direction trimmed down the text and highlighted a lot of the more comedic moments.

Lynch’s gravedigger scene and the improvised elements of the Players worked well to bring some much needed laughter to this tragic tale.

I don’t think the production was as innovative as advertised and the 1930s setting was only really evident in some of the costume pieces, but the strong cast took on the challenge of this iconic play and all delivered a solid performance.

I hope the cast have dried off by now!