Godwin's 2016 RSC Production: Act 5

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Act V plays out in around thirty two minutes (if you exclude the well-deserved applause at the end of the production). The music announcing the infamous gravediggers scene has a Calypso feel which sets an appropriately lighthearted, joyful even, and certainly irreverent tone - reinforced by the Gravedigger's ad lib of 'ya bastard' directed towards Yorick's skull. Hamlet's more measured response in contrast demonstrates his fascination with the physical processes of death and beyond.

Ophelia's body, wrapped in a shroud, is carried in by Laertes. He lays her down tenderly by the grave and weeps over her form - echoing Ophelia's own lament for her father in the previous act. To the evident distress of all around, Laertes leaps right down into the grave as though he cannot bear to be physically separated from her. His action provokes what turns into an unseemly graveside brawl with Hamlet.

Claudius hatches his plan for Hamlet's end with Laertes after the funeral - one of very few structural shifts in the production, and one which serves to emphasise Claudius' callous, calculating manipulation of Laertes while the grieving brother is in a highly-charged emotional state.

But, the reconciliation between Laertes and Hamlet prior to the duel - and the embrace they share - seems genuine, as they embark on a martial arts battle. Hamlet's nonchalance and antics suggest that he doesn't realise quite what's at stake here, until the lighting signals the shift into murderous descent. The shared forgiveness between the two in their final moments in poignant and emotive.

The lighting falls further to leave only Horatio cradling Hamlet in his death throes. Horatio's anguished yell at losing his friend gets me every time! And costume unites Gertrude, Hamlet and Laertes as they lie like an arrow across the heart of the stage in death at the end.


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