At the start of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre's production of Hamlet in a university hall in Rwanda in February, there was a power failure – the play had to be staged on the steps of the university instead.
Four months later and the players of the London theatre company found themselves on the far-flung island of Kiribati in the South Pacific – without costumes and props – to perform the Bard’s most popular tragedy. The airline had delayed the baggage of the 16-member cast, who have been touring with the production since 2014, and they ended up performing in their own casual clothes.
The adventures are all part of the company's celebration of Shakespeare's 450th birthday – the Globe to Globe tour was initiated with the aim of staging Hamlet in all 205 countries around the world by next year, North Korea included.
The UAE is set to become the 134th country on their tour, with a Dubai performance at Ductac this weekend.
The team doesn’t expect major problems at the Mall of the Emirates venue on October 10, and promise their no-frills adaptation will leave a lasting impression.
Artistic director Dominic Dromgoole chose to internationally showcase the 16th-century English playwright’s longest work due to its universal themes. The company decided to create a minimalistic set and tour with a small all-British cast who would swap roles in every performance.
“The play speaks to everybody,” says Phoebe Fildes, one of the actors who plays Ophelia. She also takes on the roles of Gertrude, Guildenstern and Horatio.
“It’s about family, love, revenge, death, mortality and politics. So there is something that relates to every single person on the planet, regardless of where you come from,” she says.
Beruce Khan, who takes on a similar number of roles, says the rotation leads to an infinite number of versions of the play.
“The different roles we play each night keeps it exciting for us, as well,” says Khan, who adds that he is looking forward to performing in Pakistan, which is where his family comes from.
“We have a different experience each night. You can watch the play 30 times and the audience will get a new show every time.”
Fildes says they have repackaged the tale to appeal to an audience of all ages.
“Rather than setting it in a particular time and trying to make a political statement, we want to tell a simple story about relationships between people, The audience can choose to draw their own conclusions,” she says.
“It is loosely set in the 20th century but the whole play and costumes have a timeless feel to them.”
• Hamlet will be staged at Ductac in Mall of the Emirates, Dubai, at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on October 10. Tickets, from Dh175, are available from www.ductac.org
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Photographer: Mateusz Stefanowski at Art Factory
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