Hamlet Directed By Trevor Nunn (2005)
From left: Imogen Stubbs as Gertrude and Ben Wishaw as Hamlet.
Reviews
"Imogen Stubbs is outstanding as a glamorous, sex-obsessed Gertrude who cracks up completely in the confrontation with Hamlet in her bedroom and ends up on the bottle."
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"Stubbs creates a pathetic Gertrude, a woman who seems powerless to comprehend her situation and who relies upon her grace and charm to win favour."
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"And as a Gertrude who gradually turns away from her lover to find herself haunted by the behavior of her son, Stubbs (aka Mrs. Nunn) gives a career-best perf, her sad-eyed chic a study in the way in which carefree insouciance can upend those of a certain class."
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Imogen Stubbs' Gertrude looks more like Hamlet's older sister than his mother which lends itself to her apparent naivite in Trevor Nunn's play. Nunn stated upon casting Stubbs that he "thought it would be really exciting to have someone who is still sensuous, who looks young enough to have another child, to be involved in a passionate relationship..." (Stubbs 31).
One interesting ascepect that Nunn and Stubb incorporated into the play was that Gertrude started the play in 4 inch heels and throughout they play they became progressivley shorter and shorter. This was intended to make Gertrude look "more dwarfed by Claudius, more dependent on him, and more and more little-girlish..." (Stubbs 38).