Ophelia — Etcetera Theatre

Ophelia by TheArchive is, in the company’s own words, not an adaptation; not a rewrite; it’s a reckoning. In Samuel George-Thomas’ new script, co-directed with Ava Benkova, the eponymous tragic heroine is given the opportunity to explain what really went down between her and Hamlet during the collapse of their relationship in Shakespeare’s play. TheArchive’s beautiful production steers clear of the cliché and contrived sass which sometimes accompany feminist retellings of famous stories, and instead leans into the poetry of Shakespeare’s language, the sincerity of Ophelia’s character, and the impossible double-bind of existing as a woman in a man’s world.

The action of Ophelia takes place broadly over the same time period as Hamlet, often behind the closed doors of Ophelia’s room. It’s a three-hander, comprising Ophelia (Emma Wallace), her brother Laertes (Raphael Santiago), and Hamlet (Jack Popely). The men represent competing desires for themselves, for Denmark; Ophelia is the site of their competition.

Perpetually caught between her family and her lover, Ophelia turns to poetry to express her frustration. George-Thomas’ language sits somewhere between Shakespeare and modern parlance; understandable to a contemporary audience but without losing the rhythm or imagery of the original text. It feels as natural for Popely to drop an F-bomb as it does for him to deliver ‘To be or not to be’ in its entirety, which he does beautifully.

At the centre of the play is Emma Wallace’s stunning portrayal of Ophelia. Wallace at once conveys the unrelenting openness, the vulnerability and the astonishing, overflowing love of her brother that Ophelia carries with her, and, at the same time, a quick wit and a deep-seated sense of defiance which ultimately leads her to expose Hamlet for the liar he is (at least in TheArchive’s version of events). She is as soft as she is determined; it is her vivid character that makes Hamlet’s betrayal of her so heartbreaking.

Nominally an R&D staging, Benkova and George-Thomas’ intelligent direction gives Ophelia the wings of a fully fledged production. The set is minimal: three red chairs on a blank stage, one, central, thrust forward. It is genuinely impressive how much variety is packed into such a limited space. The blocking is varied and creative, the chairs symbolic — they evolve in the imagination from the familiar scenes of Hamlet to the newer, original ones in Ophelia’s bedroom. The pacing is gorgeous, and while a near-two-hour fringe show might raise eyebrows, it flies by; every scene is warranted. Equally compelling is Ciaran Smith’s ambient soundtrack, which accompanies a large proportion of the two hours and works gently and effectively to underscore the poetry in the script. Despite a couple of blips on the night, the tech score is understated and inventive. Memorably, towards the end of the play, the houselights come on: the stage becomes a courtroom and the audience, pulled into the centre of the conflict between Hamlet and Ophelia, is made a jury.

TheArchive’s Ophelia is an ambitious and elegantly pulled off take on history’s most iconic play, with a deeply considered sense of who Ophelia is and how she has been wronged. It’s exciting to see a group of young people pull together such a sophisticated production in just two and a half weeks; if this is R&D, TheArchive have a show with real potential on their hands.

Reviewer: Holly Sewell

Reviewed: 2nd August 2026

North West End UK Rating: