Ian McKellen becomes the oldest ever actor to play Hamlet in this latest film version of the classic Shakespearian tragedy, a version of a recent stage adaptation that turns the entire Theatre Royal Windsor into a stage!
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00:00 Ian McKellen reprises the role of Hamlet for the first time since the 1970s in this film version of a recent stage
00:06 actuation directed by Sean Matthias. It was filmed during the 2020 lockdown at the Theatre Royal Windsor,
00:12 effectively turning the entire building into a stage. Nearly every room has been used for a scene somewhere in the film, including the roof, the fire
00:20 escapes, even the toilets at one point. It makes for a very unconventional and
00:25 experimental version of the story. Of course, the real pleasure is seeing McKellen deliver that classic Shakespearean dialogue,
00:31 which takes a different angle because he's an unusually old
00:34 Hamlet, and he's backed by a strong cast that includes Jonathan Hyde as Claudius and Stephen Birkhoff as
00:40 Polonius in a version that's age, gender and colorblind, because of course when you've got an 80-something year old Hamlet,
00:46 why not? If you're unfamiliar with the play, I don't think this is the best first introduction,
00:51 but if you are, this is a unique and different take on it without being necessarily definitive,
00:55 aside from being a good showcase for a phenomenal actor.