On Tuesday, twelve English Literature students went with Ms Watson and Ms Dunton to see a production of Hamlet at the Globe Theatre in London, which is one of their set exam texts.

It was a fantastic production with an excellent performance by the actor playing Hamlet. The Year 13 group have had many discussions about whether or not Hamlet is truly mad but this production came down very heavily on the side that he is, with the wall of graffiti at the back of the stage truly symbolising his “wild and whirling words”. The set featured an ornamental pond from which the ghost appeared and to which the dead departed; it became increasingly murky as the play went on, perhaps to show that something was indeed “rotten in the state of Denmark.” The highlight for many of us was when a member of the audience (not one of our group, fortunately) dropped their phone onto the stage; ‘Hamlet’ picked it up, and proceeded to video himself while he performed one of his soliloquies whilst making the speech seem as if it had been written about such an event.

This production has, hopefully, made the play come alive for the students and will certainly benefit them all in their future examinations for this course.