Theatre Review: Hamlet - The Rest is Silence

A unique community adaptation of one of Shakespeare’s best-loved tragedies Hamlet: The Rest is Silence is two hours long – roughly half the length of Shakespeare’s original play, making the story of Hamlet seem immediately more accessible to wider audiences. It must be said that sitting still for four hours is a tricky task for most people, even the most avid theatregoer. It was refreshing to see such a diverse audience at the Royal Concert Hall, with a good few school groups as well as young children with their adults – many enjoying a Shakespeare play for the first time.

The piece is expertly directed by Rebecca Morris and performed by a newly-created community theatre company, part of Shakespeare Nation - sponsored by the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) and run in Nottingham by the team at the Theatre Royal & Concert Hall (TRCH). 

Shakespeare Nation was created with the aim of making Shakespeare’s work more accessible to wider audiences and empowering local communities to give their own voice to classic texts. The carefully selected cast of Hamlet: The Rest is Silence features talented newcomers as well as seasoned amateur actors, and a reimagined, restructured text, making it the perfect introduction to Shakespeare for performers and audiences alike. 

Named after the last words spoken by the eponymous character in Shakespeare’s much-loved tragedy, Hamlet: The Rest is Silence features two performances with two distinct casts, both selected through open audition – allowing for different interpretations of the text and giving the audience a real incentive to attend both shows. 

The Royal Concert Hall, with its scale and fantastic acoustics, creates the perfect atmosphere for the dramatic story of Hamlet – and special mention must be made of the lighting, which perfectly depicts the dark and dangerous atmosphere of the Danish Royal court, and the costume design which, like the rest of the production, is both striking and accessible. The intelligent use of space - both physical and auditory - is instrumental in the piece’s storytelling. 

The performances are the result of an 11-month creative journey by Morris and her team, who have come together to create something remarkable - a “peoples’ theatre” project that delivers the poetry of Shakespeare with power and personality. 

As well as the ensemble of local actors Hamlet: The Rest is Silence also incorporates a community technical and production team. Between them, they created the props, set and costumes – designing the lights and sound with support and training from the TRCH team and the RSC. As well as this, the Deputy Stage Manager and Assistant Director have also received extensive training to help them run such an effective production – and all this shows, as the piece, despite not being ‘professional’ in the truest sense, is far from amateur.

This bold new response to Hamlet stays true to the original story with a modern, community-focused twist. Hamlet: The Rest is Silence is a triumph – keeping Shakespeare alive, engaging and profoundly human.

Hamlet: The Rest is Silence played at Nottingham’s Royal Concert Hall on Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 June 2025.