HAMLET has always been the angry young man of theatre.

Grieving for his father and sickened by his mother's hasty remarriage to Claudius, his father's brother, his emotions are in chaos. When he meets his father's ghost, who tells him he was murdered by Claudius, Hamlet's consequent descent into despair makes him one of the most complex characters on stage.

Is he mad? Or is he just mad at himself for being the world's finest procrastinator?

The English Touring Theatre has stripped this production to its bare bones. Director Stephen Unwin admits the aim was to produce a clear, unpretentious text.

The set is similarly straightforward. Only the most essential of props are used on the black, tilted stage and the actors are highlighted by shafts of light. The result is one of more matter and less art. Subsequently, the tragedy of the story is gratingly apparent.

Anita Dobson plays a weak and unsympathetic Gertrude married to the smarmy Claudius (David Robb). The simplicity of the production was at its most successful as Claudius prayed and Hamlet (Ed Stoppard) contemplated murdering him. His vulnerability looked as overwhelming as Hamlet's inner conflict was frustrating.

Michael Cronin was suitably exasperating as Polonius, raising the few laughs to be found in Shakespeare's greatest tragedy and this particularly raw performance.

Review by LOUISE BARNSLEY