The media frenzy has died down and Cumberbatch and co have settled into the business of getting the thing done every night. I was delighted to have the opportunity to revisit the play so I could see how it had changed since the previews.

I must admit to being somewhat disappointed. The set was still as stunning as ever, but the changes made in response to the initial criticisms diminished the production significantly. First, the ‘to be or not to be speech’ was moved back to its proper place. This made sense structurally, but it meant that the prologue, with Hamlet sitting with his father’s record player, had very little meaning. They removed many of the instances of Nat King Cole’s Nature Boy and cut down the toy motif significantly. This had the effect of removing the emotional immaturity that I had rather enjoyed in the preview performance, and there were no overall themes to be found in its place. Ophelia’s characterisation was also changed, with her photography and piano-playing gone and a rather forced scene of passion with Hamlet inserted. Her exit, followed by Gertrude (which I had found touching) was also changed. Overall, it felt rather like the direction was being done by committee. There were aspects of the direction I had disliked in the preview, but at least I understood the themes. Here, there were no themes, but merely theatrical mush.

Some aspects of the production were changed for the better. Ciaran Hinds has grown into the role and is an excellent Claudius. They sorted Anastasia Hille’s microphone issues, but didn’t turn it up loudly enough. They restored some of Polonius’s speeches, which meant that we got to hear more of Jim Norton’s beautifully resonant speaking voice (and they’re awfully good speeches). There were cuts made, though, to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s excellent Laertes and a Rosenkrantz and Guildenstern that I had rather enjoyed.

Cumberbatch himself was just as good as ever. His Hamlet remains fiercely intelligent and athletic and the speeches beautifully voiced. He has settled into the role and I did enjoy his performance very much. However, the lighter moments seemed to have gone by the wayside, and there were only a couple of moments of laughter.

So I would say to directors: stick to your guns! If you have a vision, carry on with it. I do acknowledge that it’s difficult to do that when you’re working with a huge star and the most hyped theatrical production of the year, however. I also hope that this experience doesn’t put Cumberbatch off returning to the stage, as I enjoy his theatre work very much. An interesting experiment. And if it means that more people enjoy and are not put off by Shakespeare, then it will have been worthwhile.