Review: The Man Who Was Hamlet at The Hawth, Crawley

The Man Who Was Hamlet

George Dillon for 'Vital Theatre'

The Hawth Studio, Crawley

Reviewed by Tony Flook

George Dillon is a firm believer that William Shakespeare did not write – indeed could not have written - the plays and poetry attributed to him.

This comes through subtly but unequivocally in his engrossing one man show, The Man Who Was Hamlet.

Speak to him offstage and he will explain in detail his well-researched view that, although there are other contenders, the Bard's works were, in fact penned by Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford.

Dillon brings his colourful, volatile subject strikingly to life, with no props except, appropriately, a fencing sword and a large book, plus an ever-present skull, to which no direct reference is made.

Born into a noble family with its lineage stretching back 500 years, de Vere was orphaned and took his title at the age of 12.

He became a courtier, entered into an arranged marriage, abandoned his wife (with whom he was later reconciled), travelled abroad, was held by pirates, fathered an illegitimate child, fell out of favour with Queen Elizabeth and was briefly imprisoned in the Tower.

He was later reinstated at Court but dedicated his later years to literature and died, virtually bankrupt, at the age of 54.

The actor not only personifies de Vere from near childhood to his heavily dramatised Hamlet-inspired death speech but also takes on both sides of numerous conversations with the queen and with others who cross his path. His confrontation with Sir Philip Sidney, a rival at Court, shows his flair for mimicry and his tirade against him a master-class in invective.

Solo productions can be static affairs but this play is physical by any standards. Dillon used every inch of the stage at The Hawth – unusually large by studio standards – in his agile sword-play and other activities to depict his subject.

The show, directed by Denise Evans, is enhanced by intelligently focused lighting and by Charlotte Glasson's evocative music.

George Dillon will present The Man Who Was Hamlet at Croydon's Clocktower on Thursday June 18. It will offer a thought-provoking evening to anyone with even a passing interest in Shakespeare and an enquiring mind.