Part of the problem is Line of Duty’s Adrian Dunbar’s underwhelming turn as the fratricidal king. In a shapeless suit, he lacks the oily menace or coiled charm of a true political animal.
Tara Fitzgerald also disappoints as Hamlet’s mother Gertrude, physically overacting but rarely landing her lines.
The young supporting cast work hard but are adrift in an Elsinore with no sense of time or place. Rosencrantz and Guilderstern (an energetic Taz Skylar and Joana Borja) mug for selfies like manic club kids, while Leo Wringer’s entertaining gravedigger gives us reggae riffs.
So clearly mobile phones exist – until they don’t suit the plot requirements. Guards carry machine guns but royal messages are still sent in wax-sealed documents.
