After traveling for more than 190,000 kilometers around the world, Shakespeare’s great play “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”—as mounted by the London theater company Shakespeare’s Globe, under the direction of the Globe’s artistic director Dominic Dromgoole—will be staged at the Cultural Center of the Philippines’ (CCP) Tanghalang Aurelio V. Tolentino tomorrow (Aug. 23) at 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. There will be only two performances.
This was announced by producer Steve Aronson at a press briefing at the CCP. The “Globe to Globe: Hamlet” world tour started last year right at Shakespeare’s Globe Theater in London to commemorate The Bard of Avon’s 450th birth anniversary and the ambitious objective is to stage the play in all countries during a two-year run.
The Philippines is No. 125 out of an intended 197 countries. The Globe-to-Globe version of “Hamlet” will run for two hours and 40 minutes, with 12 actors performing 24 characters from the play. The cast includes a Nigerian who sometimes plays Hamlet and a Hong Kong actress who may be called upon to play Ophelia.
Before the performance in the Philippines, “Hamlet” was staged in Japan, South Korea, and Mongolia. It is also expected to tour Papua New Guinea, Brunei, and Myanmar (Burma) this month.
Traditional
The company’s approach to the play is “very traditional,” said Aronson. “We are dedicated to producing Shakespeare as close as we can to the 1590s. Remember, there was no technology then, no lights, no sound, no TV. People were just sitting there and they would throw things.”
He added: “The actors learned to project their voices, and they changed their clothes in many strange ways. There were no women on stage at the time, there were no actresses.”
“Hamlet” is perhaps Shakespeare’s most performed play, in many languages and approaches. In the mid-1980s, director Rolando Tinio (later declared a National Artist for Theater and Literature) translated it into Filipino and cast Ernie Garcia as Hamlet. Repertory Philippines, meanwhile, set it in a post-nuclear era in a production directed by Ana Abad Santos in 2008.
Hamlet is often portrayed as indecisive. What is the Globe’s take on this?
“There are lots of other ways to look at it,” said Aronson. “It is a play about growing up and finding your own identity. That’s different from being indecisive.”
The Globe-to-Globe Hamlet tour is scheduled to end next year, which is also the poet’s 500th death anniversary. The tour is supported by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization and the British Council, among other organizations.
CCP vice president and artistic director Chris Millado, who was present during the press briefing, said the production is part of the CCP’s international programming.
“Hamlet” will be performed at CCP’s Tanghalang Aurelio Tolentino on Aug. 23, 2 p.m. and 8 p.m. The matinee performance is for students, with tickets at P257.50; non-student tickets cost P2,060. A Q&A with the actors will follow the show. Tickets for the evening performance cost P1,545, P2,060 and P2,575. Call 832-1125.