Hamlet: Globe to Globe. Taking Shakespeare to Every Country of the World

Our Review

I chose to request a copy of this book because I wanted a bit of a change from the kinds of books I have been reading and also because Hamlet is one of my favourite Shakespeare plays. This book is part analysis of Hamlet, part travel memoir and it is interesting and insightful throughout.

The idea was for the company to perform Hamlet in every country around the world as part of the events commemorating the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death.

They chose Hamlet because they knew it would travel well as it had so many different elements to it. Dominic Dromgoole says they chose it because of its linguistic brilliance, psychological insight, political activity, mythic resonance, and simple family truth. Together they combine to create a statement about what it is to be human that has never been supposed, both in the age it was written for and since.

The author argues that Hamlet was the perfect play to choose to take on tour because it already brings people together.

“It is recited in schoolrooms, quoted in boardrooms, mumbled by lovers, pondered by sages, argued over by critics, passed on from parent to child, cursed by students, and wept over by spectators. In silence, it is stored in the heart as a fortifying secret by millions of us afraid of the bruising world. It is part of the fabric that surrounds us and sits within us. It has become, in large part, us.”

I liked the way the author didn’t try to gloss over the tough times and opposition they faced along the way and prior to starting the tour.

I loved reading all about their travels and the different things they saw over their travels. I particularly enjoyed reading about the performance in Prague as I have recently visited there myself.

I would say that, just like Hamlet, this book contains whatever you are looking for when you chose to read it.

 

Our Final Rating...

Sat, 22nd April 2017