Edinburgh Fringe: Hamlet The Musical ★★☆☆☆

🎼"Hamlet's Mum Has Got It Going On"🎵 There you go, now you've seen the show. That's about the height it reaches. Distil the tortured Prince of Denmark down to an hour and sprinkle in parody pop songs. It so nearly works. There are a few good chuckles and a smattering of clever lyrics but, even for an hour, it feels a bit flabby. The cast are game, with KT Ihnatyszyn giving a tour-de-force performance as Hamlet. But for every decent pun there's a piece of uninspired mugging to the audience. The main weakness is that it looks cheap. There can be a certain charm to "we'll put on the show right here - I just think Fringe audiences deserve better than tatty cardboard props and flimsy plastic swords. Tightened up, it could be something really special - it just fell flat for me.