Too lazy to read? Then shut up and listen! (Hamlet (Audio CD))

Member Name: bruffyboy

Product:	Hamlet (Audio CD)
Date:	11/05/09 (27 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: great emotion given in performances

Disadvantages: can be tricky to follow along

ABOUT THE AUDIO CD:
Made in 1941, and starring John Gielgud, Marian Spencer, Celia Johnson, and Andrew Cruickshank, this BBC recording is widely regarded as one of the best versions of the play. Of course, you are listening to a play, and need to have an imagination that will allow you to picture what is happening, as well as the mental ability to follow it along, but it really is a brilliant version.

The cast give great emotion in their voices (as indeed they have to, with their voices being their only technique).

Priced at £13.99, and lasting an impressive 3hrs 26 minutes over 3CDS, this is an epic re-telling of a brilliant play.

ABOUT THE PLAY:
It begins with Prince Hamlet, overcome with grief at the death of his father the King of Denmark. As if that wasn't enough, Hamlet's dead father visits him from the grave to tell him he was killed by his brother Claudius, Hamelt's uncle. In a tale that would today be featured on Jerry Springer, Hamlet's mother has since shacked up with Claudius, leaving Hamlet desperate for revenge, but torn about what to do.

The play captures beautifully the intensity of grief and rage that Hamlet goes through. It is Shakespeare's longest play, and is an in depth character study of the highest quality.

When Hamlet is visited by his father's ghost, he doesn't know whether to believe him or not. He is torn between his desire for revenge, and the knowledge that the ghost could be an evil spirit, and not one to trust. In one of Shakespeare's most famous soliloquies, Hamlet ponders over the agonies he is in, wanting nothing more than to kill himself, but knowing this would not let him enter heaven (the belief at the time).

What happens next is a tragic course of events that keep you gripped right 'til the end.

This tragedy is intense and powerful. It refuses to stick to Aristotle's structure, focusing on character rather than action. Shakespeare's own son (who died as a child) was called Hamnet, and I wonder where the influences lie with this play, which is undeniably Shakespeare's most powerful and vivid work.

Of course, the play should be seen as a performance at a theatre wherever possible - I saw it on a school trip which was interesting as it included a nude Hamlet at times!

In conclusion, Shakespeare's most intense play should be devoured by all who can conquer the language barrier.

Summary: do it