Review of A Midwinter's Tale

Nobody does Shakespeare better than Kenneth Branagh, and this time, he's taken it to a whole new level. Putting together one of the Bard's best works with no money in a cold, damp church at Christmas may sound like a greater tragedy than the play itself. The frustrated actor/director, the cast composed of a band of merry misfits, Joan Collins playing an agent (!) and the god-awful ideas for unique sets and costumes only add to the already engaging tale of passion and deception that is Hamlet. You can't take it too seriously. But the script is intelligently funny, the experienced cast hits their marks, and even those who don't like Shakespeared will be entertained. It's a comedy, it's a mystery, it's a classic...all rolled into one.