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Doran also employs a more intimate focus on the characters’ inner workings and interpersonal relationships than most prior directors.

PENNY DOWNIE CRACKED

The recurring set details of reflective surfaces, cracked mirrors and closed circuit cameras further enhance and enforce themes of introspection and isolation, as well as imparting the paranoia of a police state. Where Branagh chose to play upon a grand scale, both with lavish sets and costuming, and in the attention paid to the political climate and surrounding consequences, Doran and the RSC opted for a starker setting. From a two-minute French picture made in 1900 starring Sarah Bernhardt as the Danish prince or a 1920 adaptation in which Hamlet is born female but disguised to protect the royal lineage, to the 1948 Olivier classic or the stunning 1964 Russian translation, from Burton and Gielgud or Gibson and Zeffirelli to Ethan Hawke’s modern allegorical effort or Kenneth Branagh’s faithful, and unabridged, four hours, Hamlet is perfectly suited to almost endless alteration and interpretation. One could spend days debating on the subject simply because there have been such a great many film versions over the years, but that’s part of what makes Shakespeare, and particularly Hamlet, so enduring.

The previous standard bearer is a matter of widely varied opinion. Since the release of the film, Tennant’s depiction has been hailed as the definitive Hamlet for a new generation.

Though there have been several other stage productions starring high profile actors recently (including Jude Law last year and John Simm upcoming later this year, to name two), this RSC rendition has overshadowed them all. The production was so well-received that the RSC teamed with the BBC to translate it into a film, which was broadcast at Christmas 2009 in the UK and in the spring of 2010 as part of Great Performances on PBS stations in the US.

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Most recently in 2014, Downie starred in an episode of Suspects as Fiona Sullivan, and is currently appearing as Lady Sinderby, mother of Atticus Aldridge, in series five of Downton Abbey.The Royal Shakespeare Company’s 2008-2009 season produced a wildly successful staging of Hamlet, directed by Gregory Doran and starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart.

Downie also played the title role in 'A Storm in a Flower Vase', a play based on the life of Constance Spry, which held its West End debut at the Arts Theatre. In 2013 she appeared as Rev Mother Augustine in the Father Brown episode 'The Bride of Christ'. Pienaar in the Clint Eastwood film Invictus. Downie played the title character in Euripides' Helen at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in 2009. In 2008 she played opposite David Tennant and Patrick Stewart as Gertrude, in the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of Hamlet which was subsequently adapted for BBC television and aired in late 2009. She appeared in the premiere of Nick Dear's play The Art of Success in Stratford in 1986 and later at the Barbican Theatre, London, alongside Michael Kitchen and Simon Russell Beale. She is an associate artist of the Royal Shakespeare Company where she has played roles such as Lady Anne in Richard III alongside Antony Sher, and Hermione and Perdita in The Winter's Tale. She is also an accomplished stage actress. She also appeared in The Girl in the Cafe, alongside Bill Nighy, Kelly Macdonald and Anton Lesser.

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Her UK TV credits include: Minder, Inspector Morse, Kavanagh QC, The Cazalets, The Inspector Lynley Mysteries, Spooks, Trial & Retribution, New Street Law, Poirot,The Ice House, Lost for Words and New Tricks. She moved to the United Kingdom during the early 1980s. After graduation she appeared in TV series such as The Box, Bellbird, The Sullivans, Prisoner and Learned Friends. She trained at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), Sydney. She began her career in Australia, initially in Brisbane at Twelfth Night Theatre and Brisbane Arts Theatre. Penny Downie (born 1954) is an Australian actress, noted for her appearances on British television.

Penny downie