The play is the full four-hour version, with many cuts restored

And in the key scene when the Players confront the King with his crime, the use of video cameras displayed on a screen behind the actors allows Claudius's expression to be caught in close-up.

In a bold decision, Pimlott has decided to present the full four-hour version of the play, restoring many of the cuts made by previous directors to Shakespeare's text.

But the pace and timing of the production means that it does not seem to flag at any point.

Indeed, the text is displayed electronically above the stage - useful for the rarely played bits, but distracting as well.

This is no doubting Hamlet. Rather, in Pimlott's vision, Hamlet swings from depressed teenager to decisive rebel determined to destroy Denmark as soon as he sees his father's ghost.

West's performance overshadows the female cast members

And as the production gathers strength he wrecks havoc with mother, lover and stepfather alike.

Indeed, if there is one problem with the production, it is that his strong performance overwhelms the other characters, particularly the women.

Neither Kerry Condon's Ophelia nor Marty Cruickshank's Gertude seems to stand out against his flood of emotions.

Larry Lamb's Claudius is more substantial but the comic characters like Polonius also seem to be downplayed in this all-action version of the play.

And the gravediggers scene seems to have lost its comic potential in the longer full-text version.

There is another problem with the text chosen - it seems to modify the final scene by making Laertes rather than Claudius responsible for poisoning Hamlet, thus weakening his final confrontation with evil.

Nevertheless, this is an utterly convincing Hamlet that makes one look at the play with a fresh vision.

Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company plays at the Barbican Theatre in London until 30 March.