Theatre in review: Hamlet, The Comedy of Errors and Pride and Prejudice
The opening night of Ian McKellen’s ‘age-blind’ Hamlet felt like an ‘act of defiance’, says The Daily Telegraph

Last week was a“catastrophic” one for theatre, with several shows, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s new Cinderella musical, falling victim to the “inflexible” rules on Covid isolation, said Ben Lawrence in The Daily Telegraph. So the opening night of Ian McKellen’s “age-blind” Hamlet at Theatre Royal, Windsor, felt like a double “act of defiance” – against the ravages of the pandemic, and the passing of the years.
At 82, McKellen proves “extraordinarily lithe”: as he “ran up the metal steps in Sean Mathias’s quasi-industrial production, the years seemed to fall away”. Yet his aged voice – “rich and oaky, sometimes pedagogic” – works against the age-blind conceit.
I wasn’t troubled by that, said Arifa Akbar in The Guardian. In an often brilliant performance, McKellen gives us “a prince of all – and any – time and age”. But the production overall is “bumpy”. Elsinore lacks specificity and danger, several of the key relationships are flat and unconvincing, and the “final tragedy leaves us unmoved” (until 25 September).
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The RSC’s new staging of The Comedy of Errors was about to open (indoors) in March 2020 when the pandemic intervened, said Mark Lawson in The Guardian. Sixteen months on, it is finally being staged, but outdoors – launching a new Stratford season in a pop-up “Garden Theatre”.
This amphitheatre-style space works a treat. And Phillip Breen’s staging is glorious: “exhaustingly funny”, but also touching on “deeper distresses about identity and reality”.
The fast-paced production has “more than a touch of madness, but its energy and inventiveness prove just about irresistible”, agreed Clive Davis in The Times. There’s a “winningly resourceful” cast of fine comic actors; a splendidly over-the-top 1980s “Day-Glo” aesthetic; any number of funny set-pieces and sight gags; and a director determined to wring comedy from “every word and every comma” (until 26 September, then touring).
Deborah McAndrew’s “brisk and witty” adaptation of Pride and Prejudice, at the Grosvenor Park Open Air theatre in Chester, is a “playful” and “romantic” treat, said Mark Fisher in The Guardian.
The actors, who repeatedly break into song, “respond to the outdoor setting with a breezy sense of fun”. There’s a nice double from Perry Moore as both “buttoned-up” Mr Darcy and “preening” Mr Collins, and a “grotesque” Lady Catherine de Bourgh from Howard Chadwick.
But the glue that holds the show together is Suzanne Ahmet’s excellent performance as Elizabeth Bennet. She brings great charm, humour and spirit to the part – and makes us truly believe that Lizzie’s “independence of mind is worth fighting for” (until 30 August).
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Social Security: Insolvency date keeps getting closer
Feature A new report has projected that Social Security funds could be depleted by 2033
-
Are AI lovers replacing humans?
Talking Points A third of Gen Z singles use tech as a 'romantic companion'
-
What are the Trump Accounts for kids and how do they work?
The Explainer Parents will soon be able to open tax-advantaged investment accounts on their child's behalf
-
Music Reviews: Justin Bieber, Wet Leg, and Clipse
Feature "Swag," "Moisturizer," and "Let God Sort Em Out"
-
Film reviews: Eddington and Don't Let's Go to the Dogs Tonight
Feature A New Mexico border town goes berserk and civil war through a child's eyes
-
Art Review: Hilma af Klint's What Stands Behind the Flowers
Feature Museum of Modern Art, New York City, through Sept. 27
-
Geoff Dyer's 6 favorite books about the realities of war
Feature The award-winning author recommends works by Ernie Pyle, Michael Herr, and more
-
Book review: 'A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck'
Feature A couple works to keep their marriage together while lost at sea
-
Kartoffelsalat (potato salad) recipe
The Week Recommends German dish is fresh, creamy and an ideal summer meal
-
6 peaceful homes near small towns
Feature Featuring doors with local topographical maps in Oregon and a 1850s homestead-turned-house in Vermont
-
Too Much: London-set romantic comedy from Lena Dunham
The Week Recommends Megan Stalter stars as a 'neurotic' New Yorker who falls in love with a Brit