The Royal Shakespeare Company returns to Blackpool Grand Theatre with a ‘must-see’ (Guardian) new production of Hamlet. Hamlet’s mother has married his uncle, and at a less than decent interval since the death of his father. As he pulls at the threads of his not-so-happy new family, Hamlet unravels a web of deceit and immorality that leads to the ultimate crisis of conscience.

We talk to Ralph Davis on his upcoming role as Hamlet.

What can audiences expect from this particular production of Hamlet?

I think they can expect something epic and cinematic. We’re doing it on a scale that will be very exciting to watch but also relatable. The play deals with a deeply human experience – Hamlet has to deal with the fallout of his father being murdered, and everything that spirals from that.

So yes, I hope audiences will be both riveted and moved.

Can you tell us a little bit about where the production is set?

It's set on a sinking ship, which is reminiscent of a particular disaster that happened in 1912. It will be a real spectacle. We’ve got these amazing projections of the sea and storms, and a huge, raked stage. Hamlet is a play that feels big, and putting it right in the middle of the sea on a ship takes the audience to a very exciting place.

That said, we’re not literally setting it on the Titanic: I don't see all these characters as sinking and drowning. The play deals with the theme of justice, and the point of it when we're all dying anyway. So the setting Rupert Goold, our director, has chosen feels appropriately dangerous, with death and disaster all around whilst Hamlet is trying to work out what he should do when he’s told that his uncle has killed his father.

Hamlet is probably the most famous acting role in theatre. How did you feel when you got the part?

I found out when I was sitting alone in my flat in Camberwell. It had been a few days since the audition, and I thought I’d given a fairly good account of myself, and I had a good feeling about things. Anyway I found I’d got the role, and, to use Hamlet's words, I was “struck so to the soul”. I couldn't believe it. I was so giddy and excited.

Partly because I’ve already done quite a lot of Shakespeare, people have always asked me if Hamlet was a role I wanted to play. And I’d always said no, it wasn’t something I was interested in. But I know I was just saying that in case it never happened!

I found out that I’d got the part quite a long time before rehearsals began, so I had a while to be excited about it. Of course I then read the play again, and thought, “God. What am I going to do with this?”

And how are you approaching it?

I'm trying to approach it like any other role. It is different, of course, because it's so iconic, and there are so many different preconceived ideas about what the part is and what the play is. I’m stripping all of that away, getting rid of all of that noise, and reading it like it is a new play. And trusting my instinct of what I think the role is.

So I've been very resistant to knowing how anyone else has done it in the past. I’m just working from the words on the page – what’s happening in this scene? what’s this relationship about? why is he saying these words at this point? I’m treating it like it's a new play.

Tell us about your route into acting.

My mum dropped me off at Playbox, a theatre company for young people, in Warwick when I was literally 18 months old. I don't think you're capable of acting at 18 months (!), but I was there for some sort of storytelling session. And that place became a second home to me. It was a tremendously professional and exciting environment for a young person to be in, and I just did play after play after play there.

And then I was at the RSC as a child actor. At the age of 10 I was in King John alongside actors like Richard McCabe and Tamsin Greig. Then, still as a boy, I was in Richard III, directed by Michael Boyd and with Jonathan Slinger in the lead.

I also did lots of plays at Warwick School. I actually played Hamlet at school. That was set on a ship as well, although it was set pre-World War Two, so a bit later than the show we are touring. I think I was probably terrible because I was trying to do my A levels at the same time!

I went straight to RADA from school, and since then I've done a lot of Shakespeare, including a season at the RSC, and I’ve played Edmund in King Lear, Benedick in Much Ado, and Iago in Othello at the Globe.

It seems that Shakespeare is something that particularly interests you? Is that right?

Yes. I'm just very old fashioned, or I'm just influenced by the people I would watch growing up. Those actors that I saw on stage would do a lot of Shakespeare until they were in their 40s, and then they'd make the leap to TV. And that's what I wanted to do. And that's sort of what I've done.

I think my life was changed and shaped by the Shakespeare I saw at the RSC growing up, particularly Michael Boyd's productions of the History plays. I think watching Jonathan Slinger in those plays probably did change my life. I thought that is something worth doing. I find Shakespeare easier to do than modern texts sometimes because Shakespeare’s writing is the best there is.

Do you have any particular highlights from the roles you’ve played so far?

I enjoyed playing Benedick in Much Ado. I was 26, which is a young age to be playing that part. But I was leading a company at the Globe. It was shortly after COVID, during which I thought my dream of playing lead roles was perhaps over. Both Benedick and Iago were a real test of my abilities.

And now in rehearsals for Hamlet, I feel – and I know this might sound pretentious – that this part is going to change me. It’s such a challenge. Shakespeare really stretched the actor who played the role originally. Because I think the play meant so much personally to Shakespeare.

I also had a great time when I was in A Streetcar Named Desire at the Almeida alongside the likes of Paul Mescal and Patsy Ferran. I had quite a small role, but it was such a fun company.

What's so nice about Hamlet is that I haven't been on stage for about a year, and it’s lovely to be back in a company putting on a play.

As well as acting you also write. Is that something you enjoy?

Yes, I spent all of last year writing. I feel very fulfilled by making something and putting it in front of an audience. At RADA it was understandably all about acting, but I knew I also wanted to create things.

I co-wrote the BBC show, Film Club. There’s a lot of work in getting something on TV, pitching it is a really tough process. But then you end up making it with all these talented people pulling in the same direction. I really like that feeling. In the future I’d like to direct as well.

All of that said I certainly feel fulfilled now working on Hamlet.

Audiences can sometimes be put off by Shakespeare and think it's not for them. How would you persuade them to come and see this production?

What I'm seeing in the rehearsal room is people speaking Shakespeare’s words, which really are words that we use nowadays, but just put in a more poetic and perfect order. People speaking the language like you and I are speaking now. And when actors harness those words and make them real, then I think there's nothing more thrilling. And there’s no reason for anyone to be scared about the play, or feeling that they won’t be able to follow the story.

I think people sometimes feel alienated because they hear words like ‘thee’ and ‘thou’ and certain words that are a little strange to the ear, but they make perfect sense when an actor delivers them right. And I think Shakespeare’s stories are the best stories. They are stirring and hve fantastic characters.

I’m really pleased that we’re taking this show on tour and reaching lots of different parts of the country, and perhaps people who've never seen Shakespeare before. I hope they find the experience as exciting as I did when I saw my first Shakespeare. Just don’t be scared of it – Shakespeare’s the best.

Fresh from its run in Stratford-upon-Avon, this ‘scintillating new staging’ (Financial Times) of Shakespeare’s famous revenge drama visits Blackpool Grand as part of a major national tour.

For tickets for the Royal Shakespeare Company’s HAMLET, visit www.blackpoolgrand.co.uk or call the box office on 01253 290 190. For Group bookings, call 01253 74 32 32. Tickets from £18.

For dates in York and Newcastle click here