Bendy does it for me
Can't believe the outrage that has been voiced in the media world over the "to be, or not to be?" bit being shunted to the front of the play in a production of Hamlet currently playing at London's Barbican theatre. This all came straight after the very first performance, and the producers later relented and moved the scene to its more traditional position in the play. And now the 'official' press reviews are in. I can't say I have finished swimming through that particular pool of mud just yet, but I have already noticed a common media trend in action. Which is: don't go kicking someone who is obviously a people's favourite, which Benedict Cumberbatch has become since appearing in the BBC series Sherlock. 
We attended the first night of his Hamlet on 5 August and I immediately found that seemingly audacious placing of the "to be, or not to be?" line at the opening remarkably fitting. It features the Danish prince Hamlet (Cumberbatch), contemplating and fingering some of his dead father's possessions. The "to br" speech in this poignant moment seems perfectly natural and marks out the production from the start as existential. This version explores the complextities of the parent-child relationship in ways I had not considered before, so for that reason alone it gets a thumbs up from me. And congratulations also to the hoards of Bendettes who managed to contain themselves until the very end of the play. Only then did they consider the question, "to squeal, or not to squeal?"
