THE FINAL piece of the repertoire at Pitlochry Festival Theatre is now in place, with a dynamic version of Hamlet which cuts the action to just over two hours, refocusing, reducing and even removing some of the best known lines, writes Joy Watters.

Director John Durnin shows his mettle with a gripping production that draws the best from the nine-strong ensemble amidst a stunningly lit setting.

There are various theories about the provenance of this version of Shakespeare’s tragedy, from pirated text to a half-length version of the original devised by Shakespeare’s own actors for touring purposes.

It is the immediacy of the Actors’ Cut that first strikes the onlooker, the youthful energy of Hamlet returning home is to the fore. The tragedy unfolds as he finds out his father has been killed by his uncle, who then weds his mother.

The vast dark recesses of the Pitlochry stage hum with a foreboding of disaster as Hamlet pursues his quarry, organising a play to mirror real-life events and trap his uncle.

Anthony Glennon’s Hamlet leaps through the action emphasising the wildness of youth, the inexperience and the madness as he seeks to avenge his father.

Jonathan Dryden Taylor’s Horatio is a well-judged, moving and intelligent piece of work.

Indeed, all the ensemble are alive to the demands of this piece, which requires a different kind of response from the original due to the speed at which it moves.

The text has been adapted in parts to have a more contemporary feel and whether the more familiar ancient or modern, it is clearly delivered by the ensemble.

Excellent as this production is, one does miss some of the original lines and soliloquies.

Durnin places his cast to maximum effect and Ace McCarron’s lighting design creates some memorable moments that linger in the mind’s eye.

The actors are dressed in contemporary wear, which works when it is the principals in suits, but the other characters look strangely like a bunch of extras from a Princess Di biopic.

It is a departure from the usual Pitlochry fare and Durnin and his cast are to be warmly congratulated for taking it and making it so accessible while retaining the drama of the original.