Glasgow Botanic Gardens A superb Nicole Cooper plays Hamlet as a fiercely wronged daughter, while a stripped-down version of Richard reveals an impulsive gambler on a wild streak ★★★★ ☆ /★★★☆☆ Nicole Cooper’s Hamlet is putting the first player through his paces. Warming up for the performance that will catch the conscience of the king, the actor gives her an impassioned speech in praise of Hecuba. His pretence at emotion sends her into a reverie. “What’s Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba, that he should weep for her?” she asks. “What would he do, had he the motive and the cue for passion that I have?” Her answer, that “he would drown the stage with tears”, is the key to her superb performance. Continue reading...