Denmark is my family's vacation destination of choice, so I've been to the country closer to 30 times. This time, though, I was traveling with a friend who is not as familiar with the country. So, as one of the essential things to see during a short stay in the Copenhagen area, we decided to take a little trip outside the capital and check out Helsingør's Kronborg Castle – the castle that's famously depicted as Elsinore in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
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| Some Danish family drama. Photo by me! |
I last visited Kronborg two years ago, and they highlighted the Hamlet connection then, too: I went on a guided tour led by Hamlet's friend Horatio. He took us around the castle, retelling the tragic story of his friend as we went. Shakespeare actually never visited Kronborg, the fictional depiction was perhaps entirely made up or possibly inspired by tales told by traveling actors. Nevertheless, it was fun walking around the castle and seeing where each scene might have taken place.
This summer, we were treated to something even better. We got to be a part of Hamlet Live. Every day all summer long, you can catch one of two alternating casts acting out various scenes from Hamlet all around Kronborg Castle.
The story, with concept and direction by Peter Holst-Beck and Barry McKenna, is stripped down to essentials. We don't get to meet all the characters from the play, but Hamlet (Benjamin Stender / Jacob C. Utzon-Krefeld), King Claudius (Oliver Lavery / Rasmus Emil Mortensen), Queen Gertrude (Birgitte Boesen / Linda Elvira), Ophelia (Alexandra Jespersen / Antonia Pipaluk Stahnke), Polonius (Andrew Jeffers / Barry McKenna / Ian Burns) and Laertes (Jefferson Bond / Kenneth Wright) are all there – and so is the ghost of Hamlet's father, or so I hear.
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| King Claudius, alone. Photo by Laura Haajanen. |
Entering the castle, we received a little leaflet with hints about where each character likes to hang out. For example, Queen Getrude is often in the queen's chamber, and the ghost might show up in the dark casemates. If you're not satisfied with such vague instructions, there's also a blackboard with a list of upcoming scenes near the castle entrance, complete with exact spots and performance times. The show goes on for the whole day, from 10 am to 17 pm, though I believe they play each scene twice during the day.
The play is performed in contemporary English, so it's easier for tourists from all around the world to understand than Shakespeare's language would be. Its tone is rather lighthearted and tongue-in-cheek. I think the show features just the right amount of humor. You have serious scenes with thoughts of guilt and murder, but it's all presented in a light enough manner that it's easy to jump in whenever you stumble across a scene.
The audience has a part to play, too. We are members of the court, or maybe visitors to the castle from foreign courts, and we get to greet the new king of Denmark and take part in Hamlet's ploy by booing during the right parts of his play-within-a-play. Sometimes, the characters even have a little chat with some of us.
Me and my friends didn't have enough time to watch all of the scenes, but we still caught quite a lot of them: the newly crowned king greeting the public with his queen, Hamlet's play-within-a-play, Claudius's monologue about his guilt, Hamlet feigning insanity in front of Polonius, Hamlet and Ophelia fighting...
Out of the bits we saw, my favourite scene was the play-within-a-play Hamlet uses to make sure his uncle Claudius feels tormented by guilt. This version reimagines it as a hand puppet show performed by Hamlet himself. It's very silly, very tongue-in-cheek – and the best thing is, it still works! Watching Hamlet's completely ridiculous one-man performance, Claudius starts feeling riddled with guilt, and retires to the grand ballroom to think on his sins.
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| Preparing for the puppet show. Photo by Laura Haajanen. |
The play is meant for people of all ages, and indeed, us grown-ups weren't the only ones interested. It was the cutest thing when, after Hamlet and Ophelia had had a fight with rings and old love letters flying around and Hamlet storming away, a couple of children picked up the ring and the torn letters and gave them back to Ophelia. Ah, my heart! The kids seemed pretty enamored with Ophelia in general. And it's no wonder. She wears a beautiful gown and she lives in a castle – she's practically a fairytale princess.
Actually, the audience interaction was fun and well-done all the way through, and this is coming from someone who absolutely despises audience interaction if it's done in a traditional theatre setting.
Here, with lights on and the audience and the characters mingling in the same rooms, it felt very natural when the characters stopped to chat with audience members. My friend heard an especially funny exchange when Polonius introduced his daughter Ophelia to one of us tourists.
OPHELIA: And where are you from?
TOURIST: The colonies.
Ten audience interaction points to you, clever fellow tourist! I wish I was as quick-witted as that person, but I'm afraid that's not my forte. When Polonius, a proper gentleman, bowed to me when we were leaving, I just ended up giving him a dumbfounded look. Sorry about that! Next time, I shall practice my curtsy in advance.
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| The lovely Ophelia. Photo by Laura Haajanen. |
This was a wonderful experience. The entrance tickets to the castle are rather expensive, but with something like this included in the price, you really feel you're getting your money's worth. Had we had more time, it would have been fun arriving early and trying to see all the scenes.
Hamlet Live runs until August 31st. If you're anywhere near Copenhagen this month, I warmly recommend it.
Read more about Hamlet Live on Kronborg Castle's website.
P.S. My favourite character was King Claudius. He was so deliciously, hilariously villainous. The best I can describe him is Scar from The Lion King come to life – fittingly enough, remembering that the Shakespeare character was the inspiration for the Disney villain!
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