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Two Years, 193,000 Miles, 197 Countries, One Play
by Dominic Dromgoole
Two years, 193,000 miles, 190 countries, one play. For the 450th anniversary of Shakespeare's birth the Globe Theatre undertook an unparalleled journey, to take Hamlet to every country on the planet, to share this beloved play with the entire world.
The tour was the brainchild of Dominic Dromgoole, artistic director of the Globe, and in Hamlet Globe to Globe, Dromgoole takes readers along with him. From performing in sweltering deserts, ice-cold cathedrals, and heaving marketplaces, and despite food poisoning in Mexico, the threat of ambush in Somaliland, an Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and political upheaval in Ukraine, the Globe's players pushed on. Dromgoole shows us the world through the prism of Shakespeare - what the Danish prince means to the people of Sudan, the effect of Ophelia on the citizens of Costa Rica, and how a sixteenth-century play can touch the lives of Syrian refugees. And thanks to this incredible undertaking, Dromgoole uses the world to glean new insight into this masterpiece, exploring the play's history, its meaning, and its pleasures.
Hamlet Globe to Globe is a highly enjoyable book about an unprecedented theatrical adventure.
BookBrowse Review
"It would seem exciting that for Shakespeare's 450th birthday (where DOES the time go?), the Globe Theatre, under the leadership of Dominic Dromgoole, would perform Hamlet for two years in 190 countries, in various venues and in different situations, including amidst an Ebola epidemic. But Dromgoole sits highly, gamely looking down on the proceedings, shaking his head in wonderment; there's no on-the-ground insight from the performers, from those who helped stage these performances, etc. Instead, Dromgoole (who only spends part of the two years on tour with the players) seeks for readers to know this journey only through him, and there are times when we wait, and wait, and wait, for some interesting insight while he goes on about this or that reference tangentially related to the play." - Rory Aronsky
Other Reviews
"Starred Review. [A] thoroughly enjoyable and charming story ... Sly, witty, and delightful - a glorious Shakespearean romp."- Kirkus
"A wide readership, not just Shakespeare buffs and scholars, can enjoy this book." - Publishers Weekly
"The tireless Dromgoole goes on a journey that would kill most of us, and connects our greatest poet to every corner of the human experience. Utterly extraordinary." - Emma Thompson
"This is an amazing story about a bold and eye-popping journey. I loved it. Dominic Dromgoole writes about Shakespeare and touring the globe the way he ran the Globe - with passion, insight, relish and irresistible humour." - Nicholas Hytner, former Artistic Director of London's National Theatre
"Dominic Dromgoole's recounting of the Globe Theatre's exhausting global tour of Hamlet is exhilarating. The playing company's intrepid journey around the world - performing Hamlet's own troubled journey - succeeds in making the familiar unfamiliar and enables in turn a deeply illuminating journey into the play itself." - Professor James Shapiro, author of 1599 and 1606
"This deeply humane, consistently enthralling account of a theatrical odyssey encompasses travelogue and literary criticism, theatre history and introspective narrative, political commentary and philosophical reflection with beguiling readability." - Sir Stanley Wells, editor of The Oxford Shakespeare and author of Shakespeare & Co.
This information about Hamlet Globe to Globe was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Dominic Dromgoole was artistic director of Shakespeare's Globe Theatre in London from 2005 to 2016. He is the author of Will & Me: How Shakespeare Took Over My Life and The Full Room: An A-Z of Contemporary Playwriting. He is a regular contributor to the Guardian, New Statesman, and Sunday Times (UK).
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