Hamlet the Dane with Ian McKellen "I have heard That guilty creatures sitting at a play Have, by the very cunning of the scene, Been struck so to the soul…
Neither actor really pulls off Mamet's very difficult first act. Full of unfinished sentences and interruptions, it is very hard to play it as fast as it needs to be played and still ensure that the English audience will grasp it. But your perseverance will be rewarded after the interval when the play concentrates less on academia and dry educational approaches and more on power and both actors get into the swing.
What is thrilling about this production is the two principal actors, Rebekah Morrell as Juliet and Alfred Enoch as Romeo. The love and attraction connection between these two is believable and we want them to succeed. They both speak the verse really well so we can hear every word in this space, when at some time, because of columns, we will be unable to see who is speaking.