08 Hamlet Study

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Hamletby William Shakespeare



able of Contents

INTRODUCTION

1 Te Stratford Story

THE PLAY: ABOUTHAMLET

2 Te Playwright: William Shakespeare

2 Synopsis

3 imeline: Shakespeare’s Life and World Events

4 Sources and Production History

6 Cast of Characters

THE PRODUCTION: HAMLET AT THE STRATFORD SHAKESPEARE FESTIVAL

7 Cast List

7 Production Choices

8 Tere’s a New Dane in own! - Actor profile: Ben Carlson

ACTIVITIES

10

RESOURCES

11 Selected Bibliography

11 Online Resources

11 Hamlet on Film

Cover photography:

Ben Carlson as Hamlet.

Photo: David Hou.


http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/08-hamlet-study 3/13S R A F O R D S H A K E S P E A R E F E S I V A L ~ S U D Y G U I D E ~ H A M L E 8 1

INTRODUCTION

Te Stratford Story Tat Stratford, Ontario, is the home of the largest classical repertory theatre in

North America is ultimately attributable to the dream of one man, Stratford-born

journalist om Patterson.

In the early 1950s, seeing the economy of his home town endangered by the

withdrawal of the railway industry that had sustained it for nearly 80 years,Patterson conceived the idea of a theatre festival devoted to the works of William

Shakespeare. His vision won the support not only of Stratford City Council and

an enthusiastic committee of citizens, but also of the legendary British actor and

director yrone Guthrie, who agreed to become the proposed festival’s first Artistic

Director. Te Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada was incorporated as a

legal entity on October 31, 1952. A giant canvas tent was ordered from a firm in

Chicago, and in the parklands by Stratford’s Avon River work began on a concrete

amphitheatre at the centre of which was to be a revolutionary thrust stage created

to Guthrie’s specifications by internationally renowned theatrical designer

anya Moiseiwitsch.

From the balcony of that stage, on the night of July 13, 1953, actor Alec Guinness

spoke the opening lines of Richard III : “Now is the winter of our discontent/ Madeglorious summer by this sun of York.” Tose words marked the triumphant end to

what had sometimes seemed a hopeless struggle against the odds to turn Patterson’sdream into a reality – and the beginning of an astonishing new chapter in Canadian

theatre history. Te other production of that inaugural six-week season, a modern-

dress version of All’s Well Tat Ends Well , opened the following night, confirming

the opinion of celebrated novelist Robertson Davies that the new Festival was an

achievement “of historic importance not only in Canada, but wherever theatre is

taken seriously – that is to say, in every civilized country in the world.”

ime proved the truth of Davies’ words, for the Festival’s pillared, porticoed

thrust stage revolutionized the performance of classical and contemporary

theatre in the latter half of the 20th century and inspired the design of more than

a dozen other major venues around the world, including the Guthrie Teatrein Minneapolis, the Beaumont Teatre at Lincoln Centre and, in England, the

Chichester Festival Teatre, the Crucible Teatre in Sheffield and the Olivier

Teatre at the Royal National Teatre in London. Over the years, the Festival hasmade some amendments to the original design of Moiseiwitsch’s stage, without

changing its essential format.

At the end of the 1956 season, the giant canvas tent that had housed the

Festival’s first four seasons was dismantled for the last time to make way for a

new and permanent facility to be erected around the existing stage. Designed by

architect Robert Fairfield, the new building would be one of the most distinctive in

the world of the performing arts: its circular floor plan and crenellated roof paying

striking tribute to the Festival’s origins under canvas.In the years since its first season, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival has set

benchmarks for the production not only of Shakespeare, Molière, the ancient

Greeks and other great dramatists of the past, but also of such 20th-century

masters as Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Eugene

O’Neill, and ennessee Williams. In addition to acclaimed productions of the

best in operetta and musical theatre, it has also showcased –and in many casespremièred – works by outstanding Canadian and other contemporary playwrights.

Its artists have included the finest actors, directors and designers in Canada, as

well as many from abroad. Among the internationally renowned performers who

have graced its stages are Alan Bates, Brian Bedford, Douglas Campbell, Len Cariou, Brent Carver, Hume Cronyn, Colm Feore, Megan

Follows, Lorne Greene, Paul Gross, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Martha Henry, William Hutt, James Mason, Eric McCormack, Loreena

McKennitt, Richard Monette, John Neville, Nicholas Pennell, Christopher Plummer, Sarah Polley, Douglas Rain, Kate Reid, JasonRobards, Paul Scofield, Wil liam Shatner, Maggie Smith, Jessica andy, Peter Ustinov, and Al Waxman.

Drawing audiences of more than 500,000 each year, the Festival season now runs from April to November, with productions being

presented in four unique theatres, and includes a full program of Beyond the Stage activities including concert recitals, discussion

sessions, lectures, and readings by celebrated authors. It offers an extensive program of educational and enrichment activities for

students, teachers, and other patrons, and operates its own in-house school of professional artist development: Te Birmingham

Conservatory for Classical Teatre.

TOP TO BOTTOM: 1953, the tent in which the first productions

at the Stratford Festival were staged; A view of the Festival Theatre as it stand s today; 1954, the interior of the tent in whichproductions were staged before the permanent facility was built; The Festiv al Theatre stage as it appears today.



ABOUT HAMLET

Te Playwright

WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE

Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small Warwickshire town, in 1564,

William Shakespeare was the eldest son of John Shakespeare, a glover,

and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. Te exact date of hisbirth is unknown, but baptismal records point to it being the same as that

of his death, April 23. He probably attended what is now the Edward VIGrammar School, where he would have studied Latin literature, and at 18,

he married a farmer’s daughter, Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three

children: Susanna, born in 1583, and, two years later, the twins Hamnet

(who died in childhood) and Judith.Nothing further is known of h is life until 1592, when his earliest known

play, the first part of Henry VI , became a hit in London, where Shakespeare

was now working as an actor. Soon afterwards, an outbreak of the plague

forced the temporary closure of the theatres, and Shakespeare turned for

a while to writing poetry. By 1594, however, he was back in the theatre,acting with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He quickly established himself as

one of London’s most successful dramatists, with an income that enabledhim, in 1957, to buy a mansion back in Stratford. In 1599 he became a

shareholder in London’s newly built Globe Teatre.In 1603, Shakespeare’s company was awarded a royal patent, becoming known as the King’s Men. Possibly as early as 1610,

the playwright retired to his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, living there – and continuing to invest in real estate – until his

death on April 23, 1616. He is buried in the town’s Holy rinity Church.

In the first collected edition of his works in 1623, fellow dramatist Ben Jonson called him a man “not of an age, but for all

time.” Not only did Shakespeare write some of the most popular plays of all time, but he was a very prolific writer, writing 38(canonically accepted) works in 23 years. His work covered many subjects and styles, including comedies, tragedies, histories,

and romances, all bearing his hallmark expansive plots, extraordinary language, and humanist themes. Shakespeare enjoyed

great popularity in his lifetime, and 400 years later, he is still the most produced playwright in the world.

Plot SynopsisHamlet, Prince of Denmark, is in mourning for his father – and deeply disturbed by the speedy remarriage of his mother,

Gertrude, to Claudius, her deceased husband’s brother. When his father’s ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius,

Hamlet decides to feign madness until an opportunity for revenge presents itself. Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, thinks thatHamlet’s behaviour springs from love for his daughter, Ophelia; but Claudius suspects otherwise when he sees Hamlet savagely

berating her.

Te arrival of a travelling theatre company gives Hamlet the idea of re-enacting his father’s murder to startle Claudius

into revealing his guilt. Te performance causes an uproar, and as Gertrude remonstrates with her son, Hamlet kills the

eavesdropping Polonius, mistaking him for Claudius. Ophelia, driven mad by grief, later commits suicide. Having evaded one

attempt by Claudius to have him put to death, Hamlet agrees to a fencing match with Ophelia’s brother, Laertes – who secretlypoisons the tip of his sword. Both combatants, however, receive wounds from the poisoned blade. Te dying Laertes reveals the

plot, whereupon Hamlet kills Claudius before succumbing to his own inevitable fate.



ABOUT HAMLET

A Shakespearean imeline1558 Elizabeth I crowned.

1564 William Shakespeare born.

1572 Actors not under the protection of a patron declared rogues and vagabonds.

1576 “Te Teatre”, the first public playhouse in London, opens.1577 “Te Curtain”, London’s second playhouse, opens.

1578 James VI (later James I of England) takes over government of Scotland.

1579 Publication of North’s English translation of Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans.

1580 Francis Drake returns in triumph form his voyage around the world; travelling players perform at Stratford.

1582 Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway; Susanna is born six months later and the twins Hamnet and Judith in 1585.

1587 “Te Rose” theatre opens in London. Mary Queen of Scots is executed.

1588 Spanish Armada defeated.

1589 Shakespeare finds work as an actor in London; he lives apart from his wife for 21 years.

1590-1591 Te wo Gentlemen of Verona, Te aming of the Shrew.

1591 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI .

1592 Tousands die of plague in London; theatres closed. 1 Henry VI, itus Andronicus, Richard III .

1593 Te Comedy of Errors.

1594 Shakespeare becomes a shareholder of his theatre company, Te Lord Chamberlain’s Men.

1594 Love’s Labour’s Lost .

1595 Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night ’s Dream.

1596 Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, dies.

1596-1597 King John, Te Merchant of Venice, 1 Henry IV .

1597-1598 Te Merry Wives of Windsor, 2 Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing .

1598 “Te Globe” theatre built.

1598-1599 Henry V, Julius Caesar .

1599-1600 As You Like It .

1600-1601 Hamlet , welfth Night .

1601 Shakespeare’s patron arrested for treason following the Essex rebellion; he is later pardoned.

1602 roilus and Cressida.

1603 Queen Elizabeth dies and is succeeded by James I; Shakespeare’s theatre company becomes the King’s Men.

1603 Measure for Measure, Othello.

1604 Work begins on the King James bible.

1604-1605 All’s Well Tat Ends Well, imon of Athens, King Lear (Q)

1606 Macbeth , Antony and Cleopatra .

1607 Pericles , Prince of yre.

1608 Coriolanus.

1609 Te Winter’s ale.

1610 King Lear (F), Cymbeline.

1610 Shakespeare retires to Stratford-upon-Avon.1611 Te empest .

1611 King James version of the bible published.

1613 Henry VIII (All is rue), Te wo Noble Kinsmen.

1613 “Te Globe” theatre burns down.

1616 Shakespeare dies in Stratford-upon-Avon.

1623 Te first folio of Shakespeare’s collected plays is published.

* some dates are approximate



ABOUT HAMLET

Sources andProduction History

ABOU HE PLAY

Written by William Shakespeare sometime between late1599 – early 1601, mid-way through his career, Hamlet is

often called the greatest play by the greatest playwright.

In Shakespeare’s time there were three different texts of Hamlet published. Te Revenge of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark

was entered in the Stationer’s Register in 1602 and is now

known as the First Quarto. In 1604 the Second Quarto

appeared. It was inscribed: “newly imprinted and enlarged

to almost as much againe as it was, according to the trueand perfect Coppie”. A revised, cut version of the Second

Quarto appeared in the First Folio of 1623. radition says

Shakespeare played the ghost in the original production.

Hamlet has been performed more than any other play in

the world and has had more written about it than any otherliterary work (and has had more translations, more spoofs,

send-ups and spin-offs). “o be or not to be” is the most

quoted phrase in the English language. Hamlet has inspired

26 ballets, six operas and dozens of musical works fromchaikovsky and Liszt to Shostakovich. Tere have been

more than 45 movie versions of Hamlet, including those by

Laurence Olivier, Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh. It is

the longest play Shakespeare wrote-running 4 1/2 to 5 hoursuncut. Hamlet has more lines than any other Shakespeare

character - 1,530. In 1899, Max Beerbolm said that Hamlet

was “a hoop through which every eminent actor must, sooner

or later, jump.” According to Michael Pennington (who

played Hamlet, 1980): “One of the reasons audiences admirethe play so much is that everybody in their own lives almost

every day faces the kind of crisis that Hamlet faces, that is,

do you behave like a reactive savage or like a rational and

sensitive human being?”

SOURCES AND ORIGINS

Shakespeare’s source is Ur-Hamlet -a lost play that was popular in London in the 1580’s. It was believed to have been written

by Tomas Kyd, derived from a tale in François Belleforest’s collection Histoire ragiques (1570). It, in turn was derived

from a 9th century saga about a pre-Viking prince called Amleth (or Amlothi or Amlethus depending on the source). Te

saga was recorded by a Danish monk, Saxo Grammaticus, in his Chronicles of the Danish Realm, written around 1200, andfirst published in 1514. “Amleth” means “dim-witted” or “simpleton”- a reference to the prince’s feigned madness, which he

assumed to protect himself from his uncle who killed his father. Aspects of the drama are in the tradition that grew from

Seneca (1st century Roman playwright), whose complete works had been translated into English in 1571. Aspects such as a

gloomy, introspective hero, ghosts urging revenge, treacherous horrors and violence all arose from Seneca’s model.

HAMLE IN PERFORMANCE

Hamlet has been performed continually since Shakespeare’s day; the first recorded performance by the Lord Chamberlain’s

Men was in 1602. Te play had already been acted “diverse times in the City of London; also in the Universities of Oxford and

Cambridge and elsewhere.”

Some Eminent actors who have played the role

Richard Burbage, David Garrick, John Philip Kemble, Edmund Kean, Sarah Bernhardt, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, AlecGuinness, Paul Scofield, Michael Redgrave, Richard Burton, Peter O’oole, Christopher Plummer, Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsley,

Albert Finney, Frances de la our, Derek Jacobi, Jonathan Pryce, Michael Pennington, Kenneth Branagh, Alan Rickman, Mel

Gibson, oby Stephens, Sam West, Ralph Fiennes, Daniel Day-Lewis.

Ben Carlson as Hamlet. Photo: David Hou.



SRAFORD SHAKESPEARE FESIVAL PRODUCION HISORY

Tis is our eighth production of Hamlet and the fifth production to be presented on the Festival Stage.

1957 (Festival Teatre): directed by Michael Langham and designed by Desmond Heeley. Te cast included ChristopherPlummer as Hamlet, Douglas Campbell as Claudius, William Hutt as Polonius, Frances Hyland as Ophelia and Joy Lafleur as

Gertrude.

1969 (Festival Teatre): directed by John Hirsch and designed by Sam Kirkpatrick. Te cast included Kenneth Walsh as

Hamlet, Anne Anglin as Ophelia, James Blendick asHoratio, Leo Ciceri asClaudius, Powys Tomas as Polonius, and Angela

Wood as Gertrude.

1976 (Avon Teatre): directed by Robin Phillips and William Hutt and designed by Daphne Dare (sets) and John Pennoyer

(costumes). Te cast included Richard Monette and Nicholas Pennell alternating in the role of Hamlet, Pat Bentley-Fisher and

Pat Galloway alternating as Gertrude, Eric Donkin as Polonius, Michael Liscinsky as Claudius, Marti Maraden as Ophelia and

Stephen Russell as Horatio.

1986 (Avon Teatre): directed by John Neville and designed by Sue LePage. Te cast included Brent Carver as Hamlet, James

Blendick as Claudius, Richard Curnock as Polonius, Lorne Kennedy as Horatio, Lucy Peacock as Ophelia, Elizabeth Shepherdas Gertrude and Scott Wentworth as Laertes.

1991 (Festival Teatre): directed by David William and designed by Debra Hanson. Te cast included Colm Feore as Hamlet,Edward Atienza as Polonius, Wayne Best as Horatio, Sidonie Boll as Ophelia, Patricia Collins as Gertrude, Leon Pownall as

Claudius and Brad Rudy as Horatio.

1994 (om Patterson Teatre): directed by Richard Monette and designed by Debra Hanson. Te cast included Stephen

Ouimette as Hamlet, Antoni Cimolino as Laertes, Peter Donaldson as Claudius, Sabrina Grdevich as Ophelia, William Hutt as

Ghost and First Grave-digger, om McCamus as Horatio, Douglas Rain as Polonius and Janet Wright as Gertrude.

2000 (Festival Teatre): Directed by Joseph Ziegler and designed by Christina Poddubiuk. Te cast included Graham Abbey as

Laertes, Damien Atkins as Osric, Domini Blythe as Gertrude, Evan Buil iung as Rosencrantz, Benedict Campbell as Claudius,

Marion Day as Ophelia, Jerry Franken as Polonius and David Keeley as Horatio.

Christopher Plummer as Hamlet (1957) Brent Carver as Hamlet (1986)



ABOUT HAMLET

Cast of CharactersHamlet, Prince of Denmark

King Claudius, King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle

Ghost of the late king, Hamlet’s father

Queen Gertrude, the Queen, Hamlet’s mother, now wife of ClaudiusPolonius, councillor of State

Laertes, Polonius’ son

Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter

Horatio, friend and confidant of Hamlet

Rosencrantz courtiers, former schoolfellows

Guildenstern of Hamlet

Fortinbras, Prince of Norway

Voltemand Danish councillors,

Cornelius ambassadors to Norway

Marcellus

Barnardo members of the King’s guard Francisco

Osric, a foppish courtier

Reynaldo, a servant of Polonius

Players

Gentleman of the court

Priest

Grave-digger

Other grave-digger

Captain in Fortinbras’ army

English ambassadors

Lords, ladies, soldiers, sailors, messengers and attendants

TOP TO BOTTOM: James Ble ndick as the Ghost of Hamlet's father; BruceGodfree as Laertes and Scott Wentworth as Claudius. Photos: David Hou.

Suggested opics for Discussion1. Have your students read Hamlet : discuss what they expect to see on the stage when they attend the performance of

Hamlet at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Have each student make a list of predictions about what they expect. Save these

predictions. After seeing the show, revisit them to see how they compared to the actual production.

2. Have your students make a story map or a story board outlining the main events of the play. (Tis may be used later in

group activities.)3. Hamlet has appealed to artists and audiences around the world for 400 years. What do your students think the play’s

message is? What parts did they respond to most? Were there parts they wished were different? How?

4. Have your students create a character web showing how all the characters are connected to each other. Discuss the

complexity of these relationships and how they affect the progression of the play.



ABOUT HAMLET

2008 Stratford Shakespeare Festival ProductionFESIVAL HEARE

APRIL 23 O OCOBER 26, 2008

ARISIC EAM

Director ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Adrian NobleDesigner ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Santo Loquasto

Lighting Designer .......................................................................................................................................................................................................................Michael Walton

CAS LIS

Te Royal Family

Hamlet, Prince of Denmark ............................................................................................................................................................................................................Ben Carlson

Te Ghost of Old Hamlet , his father ......................................................................................................................................................................................James Blendick

Claudius, his uncle and now King of Denmark .................................................................................................................................................................Scott Wentworth

Gertrude, his mother and now Claudius’s Queen.................................................................................................................................................................. Maria Ricossa

Te Courtiers

Polonius, counsellor to the King ..................................................................................................................................................................................... Geraint Wyn Davies

Laertes, his son ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Bruce Godfree

Ophelia, his daughter ............................................................................................................................................................................................................... Adrienne Gould

Voltemand ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................David Francis

Cornelius ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... John Innes

Reynaldo ..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ron Kennell

Osric ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Juan Chioran

A Gentlewoman ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Barbara Fulton

Ladies-in-Waiting .................................................................................................................................................................Leah Keeley, eresa Renee, Daniela Vlaskalic

Hamlet’s Companions

Horatio ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................om Rooney

Rosencrantz ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................David Leyshon

Guildenstern ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Patrick McManus

Te Watch

Barnardo ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Stephen Kent

Marcellus ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Stephen Russell

Francisco ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Patrick McManusTe Players

Player Prologue ......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Sean Baek

Player King .................................................................................................................................................................................................................................. Victor Ertmanis

Player Queen .............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Daniela Vlaskal ic

Player Poisoner ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ins Choi

At the Graveyard

First Gravedigger ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Victor Ertmanis

Second Gravedigger ...................................................................................................................................................................................................................Randy Hughson

Priest ....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... John Innes

Te Norwegian Army

Fortinbras ................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Jeff Lillico

Captain ..........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Stephen Russell

Soldiers .....................................................................................................................Sean Baek, Ins Choi, David Francis, Randy Hughson, John Innes, Stephen Kent

Musicians ............................................................................................................................................................................... Michel Allard, Andrew Bensler, John Fekete,

Jerome Summers, Michael E. Wood

Alternate ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Steven Pierre

Production ChoicesPERIOD AND SEING

Shakespeare’s play takes place in Denmark in pre-Viking days. Some believe during the time of Canute (1014-1035).

Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare suggests 1050.Our production is set in a royal household during the Edwardian period, around 1910.



With apologies to William Shakespeare, “There is a role in

the repertoire of actors, which taken at the flood, leads on to

fortune.”

That role, of course, is Hamlet. There are few characters in

literature, dramatic or otherwise, so well known as the

melancholy Dane. For an actor, it’s a role simultaneously desired

and dreaded – a pinnacle of achievement and a true test of skill.

As former Festival artistic director Richard Monette – who has

both played Hamlet (twice) and directed the play – once told an

audience at Concordia University, “There is only one good reason

for becoming an actor, and that is to aspire to play the role of

Hamlet. It is no mystery why actors want to play Hamlet. The role,

the longest in all of Shakespeare, engages every aspect of anactor’s equipment and being.”

This season’s Hamlet , directed by former Royal Shakespeare

Company artistic director Adrian Noble and designed by Santo

Loquasto, is the eighth production of the play at Stratford and the

fifth to be presented on the Festival stage. Christopher Plummer

played Stratford’s very first Hamlet in 1957, to be followed by

Kenneth Welsh in 1969, Richard Monette and Nicholas Pennell

(alternating in the role) in 1976, Brent Car ver in 1986, Colm Feore

in 1991, Stephen Ouimette in 1994 and Paul Gross in 2000. And

now Stratford newcomer Ben Carlson prepares to take to the

Festival stage as the eponymous prince – and if the readiness is

all, this affable, articulate and accomplished actor is poised for

great success. Though new to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Mr. Carlson

is well known to theatregoers across Canada and in the United

States, with an impressive list of credits and awards to his name.

Born into a theatre family (his parents are veterans of both the

Stratford and Shaw festivals), he was already working steadily

as an actor even before graduating from George Brown College

in 1993. He has spent the last 12 seasons at the Shaw Festival in

Niagara-on-the-Lake, where his credits include John Tanner/Don

Juan (a role even wordier than Hamlet!) in Man and Superman,

Cauchon in St. Joan, Charteris in The Philanderer , Andrei in Three

Sisters, Eustace in The Return of the Prodigal , Georg in She Loves Me,

Hamlet: There’s a New

Dane in Town!by Andrea Jackson, education co-ordinator

Ben Carlson becomes the ninth

in a distinguished line of actors

to play Hamlet at the Stratford

Shakespeare Festival.

Frank in Mrs. Warren’s Profession and Constantine in The Seagull .

He has also worked at such other Canadian theatres as

Soulpepper, the National Arts Centre, Neptune Theatre, Prairie

Theatre Exchange, Theatre Calgary, The Grand Theatre, Canadian

Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre and Theatre New Brunswick. He

received a Dora Award nomination for his per formance as Simon

Bliss in Hay Fever at Canadian Stage and the Grand, a Dora Award

for his Torvald in The Doll House at DVxT theatre in Toronto and

a Joseph Jefferson Award for best actor for his 2006 portrayal of

Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre – a performance that

the Chicago critics tagged as reason alone to see the production.

“In a word,” declared Toronto Star theatre critic Richard

Ouzounian, “he’s brilliant.”

This, then, is not the first time that Mr. Carlson has stepped into

these well-worn and yet still potentially blister-inducing shoes.

But how does an actor react to being offered a part that can be

such a blessing yet also such a burden?

Paul Gross was reluctant to take on the role when it was first

offered to him by Richard Monette in 2000, professing himself

unsure of whether he could actually pull it off. (He did.) Stephen

Ouimette’s reaction in 1994 was, as he recalls in Richard

Ouzounian’s 2002 book Stratford Gold, “terror, of course!” Colm

Feore thought it rather “biblical” that he should be asked to play

Hamlet at the age of 33, and decided it was a make-or-break point

in his career.

Michael Pennington, a renowned British Hamlet, remarks

in the book Players of Shakespeare, edited by Philip Brockbank,

that among those who have played Hamlet, the role is “the

source surprisingly often of regret, and occasionally of real self-

definition.” The regret, it would seem, stems from the discoveriesthat still keep occurring too late, once the run is over. As Stephen

Ouimette says in Stratford Gold , “I was reading [the play] the other

day and thinking, oh god, yeah, now I get that! I understand

what that one little phrase means.” In the same book, Colm Feore

says: “I was never finished [learning about Hamlet]. I’m still not

finished. I still think about Hamlet.”

Obviously, it’s a role that can affect the actor who plays

it. “Actors have to be careful,” says Mr. Carlson. “There’s a

tendency in acting to let the work inform your life. Hamlet’s a

man tormented by grief, visited by ghosts, afraid for his sanity,

with serious issues with his mother, father and lover, who ends

up wantonly killing three people and being at least indirectly

responsible for the deaths of five others. Sometimes it’s best toleave work at the workplace!”

As he begins rehearsals for Hamlet , Mr. Carlson is in the

enviable position of having a second chance to explore both the

play and the role – while also complementing that exploration

with his work on his two other roles in the season, Tranio in The

Taming of the Shrew and the First Lord Dumaine in All’s Well That

Ends Well .

“The great thing about working in reper tory,” he says, “is

that it stretches your acting muscles in different ways than an

ordinary run. In Chicago we did eight shows of Hamlet a week,

for three months. That was great, but exhausting. Here, the



most we’ll do Hamlet will be three times a week, which presents

its own challenges, but I’m very excited at the prospect of being

able to do the show at full energy ever y single time.”

Having already gained tremendous insight from his previous

experiences (he also played Horatio in a production of the play

at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 2004), Mr. Carlson is

nonetheless looking forward to further discoveries. Some things,

however, remain constant for him.

“My approach is very much text first,” he says. “I love it when

the focus is on the text, especially with Shakespeare, because the

text is so good. In my opinion, character always is in the serviceof the play, not the other way around, so any decisions – and with

Hamlet there are tons – have to be informed by the play.”

And the play, it would seem, can be a difficult nut to crack.

Paul Gross puzzled extensively over Hamlet’s first soliloquy, “O

that this too too solid flesh would melt,” finding it extraordinarily

broken up and full of incomplete sentences. Mr. Carlson concurs:

“The very first soliloquy I found quite difficult, partially because

it’s the first real insight the audience has into the character and

partially because of a strange, almost remote quality in the

writing. Hamlet is grieving, but is unable to express his grief

properly, even to himself – and he has a great deal of anger

towards his mother. I hope when we work on that first scene I

can explore just how much Hamlet keeps to himself with thecourt, and how much he’s able or unable to express to himself in

the soliloquy – in other words, how well he understands his own

grief. It all becomes much easier when Horatio appears. Thank

God for Horatio.”

Despite the body count at the end, Hamlet isn’t all doom and

gloom. Michael Pennington recalled his surprise at finding how

much fun it was to play this demanding par t. Mr. Carlson feels

the same about his experience in Chicago, which he describes as

“harrowing” but nonetheless enjoyable. “At the end of the play,

after a great deal of hard work playing Hamlet, the poor tired

actor has to perform a duel. I was really happy to discover that by

the end I was ready for that duel, and it was fun to do. That was a

revelation, and it came on the first preview.”

There are many things Mr. Carlson is looking forward to during

his first season at Stratford, not the least of which is concentrating

on Shakespeare. “All actors should work on Shakespeare as much

as they can,” he says. “No other playwright has kept more actors

in work, because nobody’s ever been as good a playwright.”

There are also many things we, the audience, can look forward

to in this first production of Hamlet at the Festival in eight years

– not the least of which is the prospect of a thrilling performance

from Ben Carlson. Enter the player!

“My approach is very much text first.

I love it when the focus is on the text,

especially with Shakespeare”

Ben Carlson

B e n C a r l s o n a s H a m l e t . P h o t o : D a v i d H o u .



HAMLET

ActivitiesHere are some ideas to get your class launched into the play in a fresh way.

*1. Most Horrible!

In Act 1, scene 5, the Ghost hints at the terrors of its suffering. It cannot go to

heaven because it died before it could confess its sins; so it must suffer dreadfullyin purgatory. According to Roman Catholic belief, purgatory is the place whereunconfessed sinners experience indescribable remorse as their sins are burnt and

purged away before they can see God in heaven.

Have students experiment with readings of lines 9-22 that will make the

audience shrink back in their seats! Have them add sound effects as you think

appropriate. If possible, audio-record their final version as a radio broadcast.Students may find it inspiring to google Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), an artist

who painted the tortures of the dead (or look through art history books in the

library). It may help them to imagine the Ghost’s torments.

2. CSI Elsinore

Ideally students will have read to the end of the play but it is not necessary.

Gil Grissom and the rest of the CSI team have been called in to plot the deadly course of events in a tragic multiple murderthat has wiped out an entire dynasty.

1. Split students into two groups, A and B. Divide each group into two parts: witnesses and CSI team

members. If possible, separate groups A and B into different spaces to work.

2. Cordon off the area to preserve evidence, tape the outlines where the bodies have died and through witness

testimony piece together the tragic events of that fateful night. Start from Act 5, Scene 2, lines 244 – 353.

3. Have each group walk you (Gil Grissom) through the course of events that occurred that evening. How are the

two scenes different?

3. Beautiful Death? Romanticizing Ophelia

Part 1: In Act 4, scene 7, lines 166-183, Gertrude describes to Laertes how his sister, Ophelia, drowned. Ophelia’s death has

been romanticized through the ages, most notably perhaps in the painting ‘Ophelia’ by Victorian painter Millais. For this

exercise students will need to have a photo of the painting for reference (see below).In pairs, have students explore Gertrude’s account of Ophelia’s drowning as follows: one person reads the lines aloud; the

other listens and studies the picture. Exchange roles and repeat. Have students identify particular lines or words that Millais

used as a basis for his painting. Tey should also talk about what elements of the script are missing from the painting.

Part 2: In Judith ompson’s play Lion in the Streets, Joanne, who has bone cancer, asks her friend, Rhonda, to help her die like

Ophelia. Rhonda replies with a much more realistic description of what that would be like.

Have students read Rhonda’s description of drowning from Lion in the Streets and create their own painting/drawing/pieceof artwork based on this new description.

Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1852) Ophelia by Alexandre Cabanel (1883)

* adapted from the Cambridge School edition of Hamlet (Cambridge UP, 1994)



ResourcesFOR HAMLET

SHAKESPEARE: HISORY, CRIICISM AND BIOGRAPHY

Beckerman, Bernard. Shakespeare and the Globe, 1599-1609. 1962.

Bentley, G.E. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook . 1951.

Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z . 1990.

Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare and the Actors. 1970.Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare and his Teatre.

Burgess, Anthony. Shakespeare. 1970.

Campbell, Oscar James, ed. Te Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. 1966.

Dobson, Michael, ed. Te Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. 2001.Epstein, Norrie. Te Friendly Shakespeare. 1992.

Frye, R. M. Shakespeare’s Life and imes: a Pictorial Record . 1067.

Gurr, Andrew. Te Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642. 1980.

Hodges, C. Walter. Shakespeare and the Players. 1948.

Muir, Kenneth and Samuel Schoenbaum, eds. A New Companion to Shakespeare Studies, 1985.Nagler, A. M. Shakespeare’s Stage. 1985.

Schoenbaum, Samuel. William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. 1975.

aylor, Gary. Reinventing Shakespeare. 1989.

Tomson, Peter. Shakespeare’s Teatre. 1983.illyard, E. M. W. Te Elizabethan World Picture. 1943.

Wells, Stanley, ed. Te Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies. 1986.

EACHING SHAKESPEARE

Asimov, Isaac. Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare. New York, 1970.

Edens, Walter, et al. eaching Shakespeare. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1977.

Gibson, Rex. Secondary School Shakespeare. Cambridge: 1990.Gibson, Rex. eaching Shakespeare. 1998.

Gibson, Rex & Field-Pickering, Janet. Discovering Shakespeare’s Language. Cambridge: 1998.

O’Brien, Veronica. eaching Shakespeare. London, 1982.

HAMLET

Garfield, Leon. Shakespeare Stories. Puffin Books. 1985.Shakespeare, Wil liam. Hamlet . Cambridge School. 1994.

ONLINE RESOURCES

Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet shakespeare.palomar.edu

Sh:in:E Shakespeare in Europe www.unibas.ch/shine

Feste: database of productions at theRoyal Shakespeare Company and

Shakespeare Memorial Teatre www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/339/339/

Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to Shakespeare search.eb.com/shakespeareShakespeare’s Life and imes web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SL/intro/introsubj.htmlShakespeare Online www.shakespeare-online.comMovie Review Query Engine www.mrqe.com

Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com

HAMLET ONLINE

Te Complete Works of William Shakespeare at MI shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/index.htmlBookRags.com Homepage www.bookrags.com/HamletSparkNotes www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/

Te Literature Network www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/

HAMLET ON FILM

1996 (UK): Hamlet . Directed by Kenneth Branagh; starring Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Julie Christie.

1948 (UK): Hamlet . Directed by Laurence Olivier; starring Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons.

08 Hamlet Study

Documents

Transcript of 08 Hamlet Study