Shakespeare's Hamlet
- By William Shakespeare
- Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst
- Designed by Jonathan Fensom
- Composed by Bill Barclay
- Original Music Laura Forrest-Hay
Under the patronage of HE Dr. Hamad bin Abdulaziz Al Kuwari, Minister of Culture, Arts and Heritage, the British Council and Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre are pleased to bring the world renowned Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre performed Hamlet, known as Shakespeare’s greatest played at Al Rayyan Theatre, Souq Waqif in Doha, on January 13, 2016. This launched Shakespeare Lives which is the British Council’s major cultural programme for 2016. It is be a global celebration of the life and works of William Shakespeare on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of his death.
Learning of the king his father’s death, Hamlet comes home to find his uncle married to his mother and installed on the Danish throne. At night, the ghost of the old king demands that Hamlet avenge his "foul and most unnatural murder". Encompassing political intrigue, philosophical reflection and violent action, tragic depth and wild humour, Hamlet is Shakespeare’s "poem unlimited", a colossus in the story of the English language and the fullest expression of Shakespeare’s genius.
About the Globe tour
On 23 April 2014 – the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare’s birth – Shakespeare’s Globe embarked on a two-year global tour of Hamlet that aims 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. At present the count is 130 nations and counting. 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 1,10,000 people – 80 per cent 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.
In October 2014 UNESCO patronage was granted to Globe to Globe Hamlet, in recognition of the tour’s engagement with local communities and promotion of cultural education.
About Shakespeare Lives
Throughout 2016, the Shakespeare Lives programme will bring together all areas of the organisation to create a truly worldwide celebration of his works. Managed by the British Council, working with a broad range of partners, a year of events across the globe will aim to encourage people – who either have an existing knowledge and relationship with Shakespeare, or are discovering him for the first time - to actively participate, be creative and demonstrate a personal connection with Shakespeare and his works.
