NT Live’s latest stream brings us an energetic but imbalanced Hamlet
Hamlet, by title alone, brings an expectation to the mind. Melodramatic twists, the poetic verse we had to learn by rote in secondary school, and a master at the helm in the title role. To bag Hamlet is to fight with the heavyweights. In Autumn of 2025 the challenge lay in the hands of Hiran Abeysekera, an emerging darling of the West End. What set his challenge apart wasn’t just convincing the audiences of the Lyttelton Theatre night after night, but also audiences in cinemas across Britain. His now immortalised Hamlet will beam to audiences through NT Live.
The production, directed by Robert Hastie, does away with Elizabethan stuffiness. We instead find ourselves in the flash ballroom of a modern, Uniqlo-wearing Danish monarchy, darkened by an emo prince with black nail polish. Abeysekera, an actor full of vitality, adopts a sort of fleabaggy persona in his Hamlet. The slings and woes he’s subjected to often goad a flash of his wide eyes to the crowd. At first we’re in on the joke, but with time we’re complicit to his downfall, the vacant space he fixates on.
Hamlet isn’t the easiest role to pull off, few are able to grapple with the volatility of the melancholic prince. His frequent insults and outbursts, followed by hushed soliloquies require a certain pliability and athleticism which Abeysekara has in spades. His energy, however, is sometimes his downfall. There’s little time to contemplate and breathe, the line between sanity and lucidity (under Hastie’s direction) becomes, on occasion, burdened by the blur. Accordingly, Abeysekera’s prince swings through emotions like there’s no tomorrow. It’s impressive, but never really lets us peek beneath the interior.
He meets his match in a spitfire Ophelia played by Francesca Mills. She churns about the stage with a giddy propulsion, chomping at the bit to be rid of the mores and expectations of the court. Ayesha Dharker is equally dynamic as Queen Gertrude, unafraid to tear into her boy when he’s out of order — he’s definitely his mother’s son. Part of Hamlet’s strength relies on the tension in court, but the imbalance of humours at play dampens the action. Alistair Petrie’s Claudius only gives us glimpses of his villainy while Tessa Wong, who makes a strong start, ends up an increasingly directionless Horatio.
It’s hard to fault the performers when it feels like there is a misunderstanding of the intention of the text. Hamlet, though melodramatic and soapy, isn’t a laugh-a-minute riot. At times it feels that Hastie doesn’t fully grasp what tone or emotion he is trying to express in this production. The frequent beats to the audience and quirky stage directions serve only to dilute the action, and the action, when actually permitted to run its course, is compelling. There are some light-hearted highlights: Joe Bolland is himbo perfection as an especially preppy Guildenstern, and there’s a glorious send up of Jamie Lloyd and Ivo Van Hove in the iconic play-within-a-play.
All that being said, the production really works on screen. Ben Stones’ set serves almost like a sound stage, giving us an ample view of all the action. We really do get a front-row view of each of Hiran Abeysekera’s subtleties, each discerning brow or teary gaze. The Danish prince within touching distance.
Hamlet will be released in cinemas on 22 January 2026 and audiences can find their nearest screening at NTLive.com.