Review - Hamlet, Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford

I would go much further. This is the sort of Hamlet you will see once in a lifetime if you're lucky. It is a truly outstanding and deeply moving interpretation of Shakespeare's best known character by an actor at the top of his game.

Last night's show lasted almost four hours and yet there was not a wasted moment. At any time in the action you could look around the auditorium and see 1,000 utterly absorbed faces.

At 40, Slinger is an old Hamlet but his age and his sad/funny face lend depth and conviction as he perfectly portrays the Dane's descent into madness. Just when you think this Hamlet's faking it, he suddenly attacks the delicate, innocent Ophelia (Pippa Nixon) with a brutality that brings gasps from the audience.

There's always a danger of Hamlet turning into a one-man show but this production gives space for Greg Hicks and Charlotte Cornwell to impress as the bloody-handed Claudius and his new wife, Gertrude.

The action unfolds on a stage bordered with earth and skulls, preparing us for the inevitable body count and the light relief with Yorick's much chucked-about skull. What a great night.

Hamlet is at Stratford until September 28.