After touring most of the world, the Globe Theatre is performing Hamlet in Malta on Monday. Stephanie Fsadni goes backstage and listens to more than words, words, words…

The renowned Globe Theatre embarked on an exhaustive two-year tour in 2014 to commemorate the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth. Globe to Globe Hamlet has seen the Shakespearian play performed around the world, from Japan to Sudan and Guatemala, and is set to reach out to the remaining communities by April.

The theatre company has taken on something grander than just a stage production. Besides being a life-enriching and humbling experience for the 16-strong troupe, the tour has helped build cultural relations between very diverse nations.

“Hamlet is… well Hamlet,” says the Globe’s artistic director, Dominic Dromgoole. “I think Hamlet, so beautiful and so perfect in form, has been a continually enriching experience for the company. It has ripened and developed on itsjourney – the actors have grown during its course and can continue to reflect on what it means as it makes its way around the world.

“Hamlet is also such a protean play – it can respond in various ways to different places. In some places it has challenged, in some inspired and in others consoled. And its themes concerning parents and children, rebellion and depression seem universal.”

Set in the Kingdom of Denmark, Hamlet dramatises the revenge Prince Hamlet is called to wreak upon his uncle Claudius by the ghost of Hamlet’s father, King Hamlet. Claudius had murdered his own brother and seized the throne, also marrying his deceased brother’s widow.

The cast and crew say that it’s almost “shocking” how Shakespeare is still “relevant, pertinent and so powerful” in today’s world. They believe the past 20 years have seen a resurgence of the playwright’s popularity and have witnessed huge enthusiasm for his works in China and an increasing interest in India.

The Bard’s longest play has been staged innumerable times. The company says that their production may be different to others because of its international cast, belonging to different cultures and theatre traditions. Also, the 12 actors are sharing roles to “take breaks and refresh”.

“One of our Hamlets, Ladi Emeruwa, is from Nigeria; the other, Naeem Hayat, is from a Muslim family in East London; and Jennifer Leong, one of our Ophelias, is a protégée of Hong Kong’s Tang Shu-wing company, which brought Titus Andronicus to Globe to Globe in 2012 and is returning this year with Macbeth,” explains Dromgoole.

While admitting that it was challenging to perform without their set and costumes, the group agrees that the most difficult part of playing Shakespeare around the world was the language barrier.

“In some places, audiences don’t need to understand every word, whereas in others, it’s more important. We try to overcome this by providing a handout sheet or subtitles but it depends on how receptive the audience is to that in every place.”

Yet, despite this communication problem, the tour has served to build bridges between cultures. In October 2014, Globe to Globe Hamlet was granted Unesco patronage in recognition of its engagement with local communities and promotion of cultural education.

The director describes the journey, which started off in the UK, as “a fantastic dialogue between us and the places we have visited”.

“There is always a cultural exchange of some kind and it has been eye-opening for us. We aren’t just bringing Shakespeare to the world but cultivating relationships and bringing back a piece of each country with us as we go. Miranda [Foster] collects songs, Naeem finds footballs, Jennifer collects stamps and we are all collecting memories.”

Among the more memorable venues, they mention a Greco-Roman amphitheatre in Cyprus, overlooking the sea and the Parque Inés de Suarez in Santiago in Chile, where they performed outdoors for free to an audience of over 2,500 people. In Sudan, they played at the national theatre to close to 4,000 people, with many watching from nearby rooftops. And in Nigeria, they performed at the same school which Emeruwa, one of the actors playing Hamlet, attended as a child.

This experience may have also changed the troupe’s individual outlook of life and the world.

Matthew Romain, who plays Horatio and Rosencrantz among other characters, was particularly surprised by the tiny South Pacific island of Vanuatu, which they visited weeks after a hurricane tore through the region. They found trees stripped bare, buildings reduced to rubble and flooded areas.

“Far from appearing beaten by the trauma, the Vanuatuans were perhaps the cheeriest people we’ve encountered,” he says. “Smiles abounded wherever we went and there was a certain light-heartedness in the way they talked, even about their recent difficulties. No one seemed bitter about their lot, nor sorry for themselves. They possessed what appeared to be an unbreakable spirit, a nature that was both hardy and full of joy.”

Miranda Foster, who plays Gertrude, says that this role was a rare and extraordinary opportunity she could not refuse.

“The more you travel and the more people you meet, the more you realise that we’re all the same.”

She quotes Ian McEwan: “Blind luck, to arrive in the world with your properly formed parts in the right place, to be born to parents who were loving, not cruel, or to escape, by geographical or social accident, war or poverty.”

One of the four stage managers, Rebecca Austin, was impressed by the compassion shown to her and her colleagues.

“We have constantly been saved by the kindness of the strangers we encounter. People who see what we are trying to do and give their time, knowledge and means to help us.”

She recalls a museum housekeeper in Cyprus who, without speaking a word in English, helped the stage managers lug their equipment in the Limassol amphitheatre in the soaring heat. And in Serbia, some workmen noticed they were having difficulty carrying their equipment, so they unloaded their truck of scaffolding, loaded the troupe’s equipment and drove it down a big hill that led to their performance space.

“These may seem like very small things but gestures of kindness like this can make a massive difference to us,” she says.

Phoebe Fildes, who plays Ophelia and Gertrude, among others, claims that this tour “has changed the way I’ll live in the future”.

“I’ve realised how simultaneously big and small the world is. Almost everywhere you go, despite huge cultural differences, you will almost always find people socialising with each other, children playing together and families looking after them.

“At the heart of it, we are all much more similar than I imagined. I think I’ve learned that really, there is very little that we actually need. I’ve come to noticethe emphasis our lifestyles can place on the importance of money and acquiring material things and hope that financial ambition isn’t something that heavily shapes my life in the future.”

Amanda Wilkin, who also plays Ophelia and Gertrude among other characters, is excited to be able to say that she has travelled the world. This experience forced her to live in the here and now and she hopes she can continue to live “a little like that”.

“Learning about our planet has changed my life. Learning how tribal we all are. Witnessing how we treat others who are different to ourselves, or understanding why storytelling has been wiped out in certain places. That’s been hard.

“Everywhere we go, people are so excited not just to watch our show but to participate in the cultural sharing that takes places. This tour has changed my outlook on work, it has re-engaged me in the importance of storytelling,and has opened my eyes to how we should be respectful of Shakespeare.”

After playing in France this week, including at a migrant’s camp in Calais, the troupe is next performing in Malta, where they will stage two shows at the Salesian Theatre in Sliema on Monday.

Since the company could not perform in Libya, efforts are being made by the British Council Malta and the Agency for the Welfare of Asylum Seekers to invite Libyan migrants residing in Malta to attend one of the showsfor free.

The Globe Theatre has already brought King Lear, The Taming of the Shrew and also the 2011 production of Hamlet to our shores and thus know what to expect of the local audience. But what should we expect?

“We always find that the Maltese audience is incredibly tuned into the language of Shakespeare. It is exciting to play to such a focused audience.

@As regards the audience, they should expect a very fresh, fast-paced version of the play. Also, we have to carry our set as we travel across the world, so they shouldn’t expect huge scenery – it is simple, but effective.”

Now that this long journey is approaching its end, the group has mixed feelings about their return home. While looking forward to see their loved ones, they know it will be hard to settle down again.

“It is going to be a huge change for us all – who knows what the future will hold.”

• Hamlet is being staged at the Salesian Theatre in Sliema at 2pm and 7.30pm on Monday. The 7.30pm show is sold out and few tickets remain for the 2pm performance. For more information, visit the Teatru Salesjan Facebook page and for tickets, visit www.ticketline. com.mt. To follow the last few months of the Globe to Globe Hamlet project, visit www.globetoglobe.shakespearesglobe.com.

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