A Nebbish Of A Hamlet Is Making His Way Around The World

• Cathy Taylor
• Naeem Hayat as Hamlet

In honor of the Bard’s 450th birthday last April, Shakespeare’s Globe in London put together a traveling production of Hamlet that’s scheduled to hit 205 countries by birthday number 452, in 2016. That’s a dozen more countries than are members of the UN. The United States is country 28 on the itinerary, and Chicago Shakespeare Theater is the second stop here after the Folger in D.C. The troupe end their three-day stand tonight.

It’s a interesting notion, this worst-case Hamlet, this almost complete disappointment attempting to redeem himself. Hayat makes him funny and frustrating and way too self-aware for his own good. Surprisingly, he makes him charming, too, in a candle-under-a-bushel sort of way. You can see why a soft touch like Ophelia would have loving feelings for him.