In the midst of its tour Shakesepeare’s Globe’s Hamlet has reached the Bodleian Library. This production, which has been well received at each stop of its journey around the country, marks the fifth collaboration between the Oxford Playhouse, the Bodleian library and The Globe on Tour.

In homage to the origins of theatrical performance Hamlet is presented in the open air and peeled back to the staging essentials. To see a Shakespeare production in this way is to see a Shakespeare production in the way the man himself may have first envisioned. But this is still England; it is July and, it is impossible to deny, the weather has not been kind to outdoor productions so far this summer.

Tuesday’s opening night did see a few spots of rain and the temperature was far from balmy, but the drizzle failed to dampen the spirits of the cast and, in turn, the audience. It is easy to ignore the chill once those instantly recognisable lines begin to echo from the walls of the Bodleian’s Old Schools Quadrangle.

Directors Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst present this incarnation of one of the Bard’s most iconic tales on a simple, rustic-looking stage, allowing this to take on a character of its own, radiating Elizabethan style charm. The stage and costume design give this Hamlet a unique play-within-a-play feel. The costumes are not those of modern day actors playing the parts of Danish monarchy, but rather those of touring actors from centuries past making do with what they had.

The bygone vibe does not end with the production design; each character is equipped with a musical instrument. The accompaniment of strings, wind and well-timed percussion gives the entire performance a very pleasing finish — quite literally as the play closed, believe it or not, with the full cast taking part in a merry jig.

Despite the play’s status as a notorious tragedy, The Globe’s production allows plenty of space for the moments of humour that are sometimes overlooked. Christopher Saul’s Polonius in particular garnered more than a few laughs from beneath the hoods of raincoats, while Michael Benz as Hamlet performed the contrasting sides of the character to perfection.

The deliberately humble approach to the play offers a very raw and natural result – a refreshing sight in a season often saturated by Shakespeare. There is no pretention to The Globe’s Hamlet, no ill-fitting twists or re-imaginings, this is the real thing – Shakespeare’s words, as he wrote them.

Hamlet continues until July 26. Tickets are priced at £18 and are available from the box office on 01865 305305. They can also be booked online at www.oxfordplayhouse.com