William Shakespeare’s “Hamlet”, that most famous tale of intrigue, obsession, revenge and wild humour, somehow always finds itself in the news whether through a Bollywood reproduction or regional theatre. However, for the first time ever, the Bard’s very own Globe Theatre is set to visit the city for a performance at Ranga Shankara on October 18.
Directed by Dominic Dromgoole and Bill Buckhurst, this production of Hamlet by the Globe Theatre is a young, fresh version of Shakespeare's classic tragedy of deferred revenge that teases out its latent streak of gallows humour, celebrates the exuberance and invention of its language. Just 12 actors perform over two dozen parts on a stripped-down wooden stage in a comparatively brisk two hours and 40 minutes.
“The play will be web-cast nationally, which is a first in itself,” said Rob Lynes, Country Director, British Council, India.
He added that the British Council will live-stream the performance so anyone anywhere in India with internet access will be able to watch the performance.
The performance in the city is part of the theatre company’s commitment to internationalising Shakespeare through the “Globe to Globe” festival. The agenda is to travel to all 205 nations to stage the play in a huge range of unique and atmospheric venues from village squares to national theatres and palaces to beaches.
At present, the count is 130 nations. The plan is to travel by boat, sleeper train, jeep, tall ship, bus and aeroplane across the seven continents. And, the target is to take one of Shakespeare’s best-known plays to some of the most inaccessible places in the world.
In 2012, when the festival was last held, 110,000 people – 80 per cent of whom were first-time visitors to the Globe – flocked to watch 37 works of Shakespeare being performed in 37 different languages over just six weeks.
The Bard’s very own Globe Theatre is set to visit Bengaluru
on October 18
