Hamlet at the Young Vic

Sometimes, it seems like I plan my life a ridiculous amount of time ahead: I regularly book things nearly a year in advance, and then am shocked when the event finally arrives. So it was with Muchael Sheen's Hamlet at the Young Vic: I booked almost as soon as the tickets went on sale (last February!) and have had to tolerate many of my friends and fellow critics seeing the show over the last few months while I have been fretting away waiting for my turn to come around. What if Michael Sheen got sick? Injured? The thought of booking so far in advance and still missing out started to make me fret.

Well, finally - without incident - my turn came, and this past weekend I headed to the Young Vic for what has been one of the most controversial takes on the Dane in many a year. Some people loved it, some hated the so-called 'One Flew over Elsinore' vibe of setting the show in a mental institution. Me, I just wanted to see Michael Sheen on stage, taking a punt that no matter how bad the show was, he would be good value.

In the end, I loved it. I can see why this heavily stylised (and occasionally heavy handed) take on the story might alienate some viewers, but I thought it worked well, and gave the show a freshness and urgency that sometimes it lacks, even if the second half felt far slower than the (much longer) first. The casting was an interestingly non-traditional mix of races and sexes (Horatio and Rosencrantz - or was it Gildenstern? - were both women) which generally worked, and added a nice frisson with the idea that Hamlet's previous relationships with his fellow students hadn't been necessarily platonic. Some of the cast I liked less: while I thought Gertrude as blowsy drunk was a good idea, I wasn't overly taken with Sally Dexter's performance, and  Benedict Wong's Laertes was occasionally a tad overwrought for my tastes. Vinette Robinson's Ophelia I really liked - it's a hard role, and here her disintegration was suitably shocking rather than, as it can be, annoyingly fey.

But of course, I put my money on the table for Sheen, and he didn't disappoint. Already one of my favourite actors (both onscreen and off), I thought he was simply incredible. Anguished, passionate, furious and surprisingly funny, you simply couldn't take your eyes off him whenever he was on stage, and he was easily the most compelling Hamlet I have seen in years. There are only a few days left to see this - and only day seats left - but if you can, go get a ticket: you're unlikely to see a better show this year.