Four stars
* * * *

Shakespeare 4 Kidz @ the Lowry
Julia Taylor
19/ 3/2008

There was a buzz of excitement at the Lowry when hoards of schoolchildren turned up to experience Hamlet (and possibly Shakespeare) for the first time.

I hoped it wouldn't continue throughout the performance – and it didn’t.

The children laughed at Hamlet’s attempts to become an idiot and you could hear a pin drop in the dramatic last scene when the entire Danish royal family were slain.

The kids’ reaction is not surprising because this Shakespeare 4 Kidz version was expertly written for them by the director, Julian Chenery with the addition of lilting songs composed by Matt Gimblett who also contributed to the lyrics.

If The Taming of the Shrew could be made into Kiss me Kate, why shouldn’t Hamlet be made into a musical?
The script stuck to the original storyline spelling out the plot with quality modern language.

The story was made crystal clear by the use of narration and the clear diction of the singers.

It began with the To be or not to be. But even Hamlet’s well-known soliloquy wasn't spoilt by changes.

Ten-year-old Sarah Webster had travelled all the way from Southport with her classmates from Tarlton Holy Trinity School.

Before coming, they viewed Shakespeare’s version but Sarah preferred the modern one. “It’s exciting and funny”, she said.

Paul Parris took centre stage as Hamlet, gently leading his young audience through his character’s trials and tribulations with which they obviously empathised.

He was especially good when confronting Laertes (Tommi Baxter-Hill) in a fencing duel where the odds were stacked against him.

His real enemy was Claudius, his uncle and stepfather, played perfectly by Jason Lee Scott who had a singing voice to die for.

I only wish plays such as this had been written when I was a kid.

Shakespeare 4 Kidz was at the Lowry on Monday, 17th March (The Tempest) and Tuesday, 18th March (Hamlet)