Hamlet can’t be played as mad, says actor

SHAKESPEARE’S Hamlet cannot be played simply as “mad” nowadays because audiences are so tuned in to mental health issues, the actor Andrew Scott has said.

Scott, who is playing Hamlet at the Harold Pinter Theatre in London, said analysis of the play has previously focused on the questions of “is he mad or is he not mad”.

But with a new focus on mental health issues, aided by the Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry, it is no longer enough to make it that simple, the actor said.

Scott told The Andrew Marr Show: “I think you can’t ignore this new interest we have in mental health now and just play it as ‘mad, crazy’.”

“This [Hamlet] is about a young man who’s grieving for his father, and he’s told ‘stop, we don’t have time for that, come on get over it’.

“That’s a big thing for young men.”