It is an impressive feat to make Shakespeare engaging and accessible to a theatre full of fidgeting eight year olds, but the National Theatre have achieved it with their current production of ‘The Winter’s Tale’. Shakespeare’s play, a story of magic and unknown royal heritage has been rewritten by Justin Audibert with a combination of the original dialogue and some necessary narration by the charismatic Perdita (Aisha Toussaint). While the children may not have understood every word, the message was conveyed humorously and enjoyably (a noticeable favourite character was Gina the sheep, who I’d assume played somewhat less of a major role in the original, but who was popular with the younger audience members). The story also managed to retain a certain level of nuance and complexity which is unusual for productions aimed at this age group. Lucy Sierra's simple set and bright colours, with clear outfit options for different groups and alliances definitely helped ensure you could follow the plot, and the music (Jonothan Girling), while not quite up to the level of Shakespeare’s prose, was also entertaining and fun. Although this production isn’t necessarily aimed at the older audience members it wasn’t anywhere near as mind numbing as some children’s entertainment is, and for that it should also be commended. This wasn't the most sophisticated Hamlet at the Globe, but it was a good place to start.
