Royal Shakespeare theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
The court of Elsinore becomes a ship of state – or a ship of fools – in Rupert Goold’s production

Thematic merchandise is common at Shakespeare productions: Veronese pizzas before Romeo and Juliet, meat pies at Titus Andronicus. The new RSC Hamlet, unusually, has a tie-in cruise. The programme advertises a collaboration between the theatre company and Cunard: seven days on the Queen Mary 2 “putting the power of Shakespeare to sea”.

Which is the course on which director Rupert Goold sets the court of Elsinore. His version takes place entirely on a sort of Royal Yacht Scandinavia during what seems to be a honeymoon cruise for Claudius and Gertrude. A ship of state, this is also, metaphorically, a ship of fools.