An excellent one-man Hamlet that’s part homage, part breakdown.

Sam Blythe walks in silently and begins the tightrope between tribute and psychodrama, offering a stripped-back, emotionally textured, and slightly surreal take on Hamlet. It opens in near silence — a man alone in a confined space, preparing… or unravelling. The script is real (marked with a Welsh dragon, no less). The clown nose? That’s your ticket in.

Blythe weaves through Hamlet’s greatest hits with clarity, but it’s the framing that lifts this beyond a solo turn. The red nose acts as both armour and mute button — most memorably when silencing some of the Bard’s more misogynist lines. This isn’t a Hamlet that just soliloquises. It breaks character, calls itself out, and keeps moving.

There’s also a second presence: a voice. Disembodied, unsettling. It’s never fully explained, but it needles at the edges of the piece, pulling Blythe out of character — or pushing him further in. The lines between actor and role begin to blur.

Blythe is a magnetic performer. He speaks Shakespeare like he’s thinking it for the first time — exactly how it should be. While the framing device may leave some puzzled, the overall effect is strong, strange, and emotionally anchored.

And then, right near the end, the music cue: a lo-fi piano cover of The Pixies’ “Where Is My Mind?” It’s a little on the red sponge nose, but perfectly pitched.

This isn’t Hamlet for purists, and it doesn’t want to be. It dodges the usual solo Shakespeare traps and delivers something deeper, odder, and more memorable.

Guy Masterson Productions have been quietly bringing quality work to the Fringe for three decades. Add this to their list.

****

Reviewed by Steve H

Assembly George Square – Studio 4

10.40 (1hr)

Until 24 Aug (not 12 or 18)