Hamlet (2009), Gregory Doran

The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2009 stage adaptation of Hamlet, directed by Gregory Doran and shot for television, combines a historical castle setting with modern wardrobes and props, notably featuring David Tennant’s Hamlet holding a camcorder as he records Claudius’ reaction after the dumbshow in court. Unlike Branagh’s scene which unifies the setting with the outfits, Doran’s adaptation sets enough distinction between the two that the audience may find it somewhat absurd or comedic, with Hamlet’s camcorder especially anachronistic. Yet arguably this conscious anachronism highlights the metatheatrical nature of this scene and the theme of surveillance in the play, while drawing the audience’s attention to the artificiality of the dumbshow using a recording device familiar to the modern viewer.