Midwinter's Tale, A

To be or not to be? To act or not to act? The questions are the same to Joe, a struggling (read: jobless) actor whose every sinew and synapse cries out to perform and to soften the blow of not landing a part in a megabudget sci-fi movie. So in the stalwart (read: desperate) tradition of actors everywhere, Joe vows to put on a show, a special (read: even more desperate) version of the greatest play in the English tongue. Writer/director Kenneth Branagh serves up Hamlet on wry with this salute to dyed-in-the-wool and other woolly-brained thespians. Michael Maloney (Truly Madly Deeply) portrays Joe, maxing out credit cards and his wits to realize his dream. Does he succeed? Well, with Richard Briers (Branagh's Hamlet), Joan Collins (Dynasty), Nicholas Farrell (Chariots of Fire), Absolutely Fabulous alumna Jennifer Saunders and Julia Sawatha and more joining Maloney, one thing's certain. The show must go on!

• comedy