Shakespeare`s Globe is setting out to tour Hamlet to every country in

Shakespeare`s Globe is setting out to tour Hamlet to every country in

Shakespeare’s Globe is setting out to tour Hamlet to every country in the
world between 23 April 2014 and 23 April 2016
00:00 Tuesday 16 July
On 23 April 2014 – the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth – Shakespeare’s Globe will
embark on a two-year global tour of Hamlet that will aim to take in every country in the
world. The ‘Globe to Globe Hamlet’, directed by the Globe’s Artistic Director Dominic
Dromgoole, will be a completely unprecedented theatrical adventure.
The company will travel to all 205 nations in the world to stage Hamlet in a huge range of
unique and atmospheric venues, from village squares to national theatres, from palaces to
beaches. They will travel by boat, sleeper train, jeep, tall ship, bus and aeroplane across the
seven continents.
The Globe to Globe Hamlet will reinforce the Globe’s continuing commitment to
internationalising Shakespeare following the runaway success of the 2012 ‘Globe to Globe’
festival. During the festival 110,000 people – 80% of whom were first-time visitors to the
Globe – flocked to watch 37 works of Shakespeare performed in 37 different languages over
just six weeks. This new tour will bring one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays to some of
the most inaccessible places in the world.
Theatre director Peter Brook said: “The six simplest words in the English language are TO
BE OR NOT TO BE. There is hardly a corner of the planet where these words have not
been translated. Even in English, those who can't speak the language will at once recognise
the sound and exclaim 'Shakespeare!' Hamlet is the most all encompassing of
Shakespeare's plays. Everyone, young or old can today find an immediate identification with
its characters, their pains and their interrogations. To take Hamlet in its original language
around the world is a bold and dynamic project. It can bring a rich journey of discovery to
new audiences everywhere.”
The Globe’s Artistic Director Dominic Dromgoole said: “In 1608, only five years after it
was written, Hamlet was performed on a boat – the Red Dragon – off the coast of Yemen.
Just ten years later it was being toured extensively all over Northern Europe. The spirit of
touring, and of communicating stories to fresh ears, was always central to Shakespeare’s
work. We couldn’t be happier to be extending that mission even further. By train, coach,
plane and boat we aim to take this wonderful, iconic, multifarious play to as many fresh ears
as we possibly can.”
The small-scale production, which toured the UK, Europe and the United States in 2011 and
2012, is a fresh version of Shakespeare’s classic tragedy of deferred revenge that
emphasizes the play’s gallows humour and celebrates the exuberance and invention of its
language. A new cast of just eight actors will perform over two dozen parts on a strippeddown booth stage in a brisk two hours and forty minutes. The New York Times applauded “a
production that prizes efficiency, clarity, accessibility and above all energy”, the
Mexican newspaper La Jornada called it “bright, light and nimble” and in Austria Die
Presse described it as “boisterous, funny, fast-paced and highly musical”, while the
Daily Telegraph praised its “young, unjaded and open-hearted” portrayal of the Danish
prince.
The tour will finish on 23 April 2016, the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. This will
also be the date of Dominic’s departure from the Globe, after a decade as Artistic Director.
EDITORS’ NOTES
For further information contact Francesca Maguire, Julia Hallawell or Emma Draper at
Shakespeare’s Globe on +44 (0) 207 902 1491/1492 or email
[email protected] / [email protected] /
[email protected]
Booking:
Phone
In person
Sundays
Online
Tickets
020 7401 9919
Mon-Sat 10am-6pm (8pm on performance days)
10am-5pm (7pm on performances days)
shakespearesglobe.com
£5 - £39
Globe Exhibition and Tour is open all year round. For more information visit
www.shakespearesglobe.com/exhibition
The Sam Wanamaker Theatre: Shakespeare’s Globe is currently fundraising to build
a new indoor Jacobean theatre to be named after the Globe’s visionary founder,
opening in 2014. For further information please visit
http://www.shakespearesglobe.com/the-sam-wanamaker-playhouse
Globe on Tour: The Globe’s productions tour the UK, Europe and America. For more
information www.shakespearesglobe.com/theatre/on-tour
Globe On Screen: Shakespeare’s Globe returns to cinemas this summer, bringing
2012’s season of triumphs and sell-out performances to cinemas worldwide from late
May. Globe On Screen 2013 features Henry V, box-office sensation Twelfth Night
and The Taming Of The Shrew, captured ‘live’ in high definition. Find out more at
www.globeonscreen.com
Globe Education presents a programme of workshops, lectures, events and staged
readings all year round. For more information this programme of events call Globe
Education 020 7902 1438 or visit www.shakespearesglobe.com/education
Globe Shop stocks a variety of products, including theatre season specific
merchandise. Shakespeare's Globe is a registered charity and all profits from sales
go towards supporting our educational mission. Items can be bought at the onsite
shop or online at www.shakespearesglobe.com/shop
Swan Bar and Restaurant is open all year round. For reservations please call 020
7928 9444. www.loveswan.co.uk
The Shakespeare Globe Trust is a registered charity No.266916. Shakespeare’s
Globe receives no public subsidy.