Bard’s Bus Tour | Driftwood Theatre Group | Hamlet

Celebrating more than 20 years of classic theatre on tour in Ontario. 

Shakespeare’s Hamlet, performing Jul 9 - Aug 16, 2015. 

Over the past two weeks, I’ve had the privilege of being a part of the “young company” of Driftwood Theatre Group, and have gotten to know many of the amazing and talented people that are a part of this year’s production of Hamlet. I saw the preview at Todmorden mills on Friday and it was excellent, and I’ll also hopefully be volunteering as an usher at a couple of the productions throughout the summer.

And now, why does all this matter to you? Well, if you live somewhere in Ontario, Canada, they could be coming to your hometown and you should definitely come and watch!

Want some reasons this particular production of Hamlet is worth your time? Here’s a list of 10 that I think are pretty compelling:

1.  It’s pay-what-you-can, so you won’t have to worry about being able to afford super expensive tickets
2. It’s outdoor theatre (which is always fun - but bring bug spray!!) 
3. The text they use is based on the scene structure of Shakespeare’s rarely-performed First Quarto (1603), and the textual content of the iconic First Folio (1623) – so it’s faster paced and more energetic than the classic 4-hour version, but the flowing poetry and text is mostly kept in tact (for anyone familiar with the “bad quarto”, don’t worry, the to be or not to be speech is, although shorter, kept pretty much entirely the same for the beginning of it) 
4. The cast is a great mix of established actors and emerging talent, and colourblind casting has ensured that there was no clinging to the outdated idea that shakespeare characters can only be played by white people unless they're explicitly stated to be otherwise (eg. Othello) -- many of the lead roles are played by people of colour.
5. Horatio is played by a woman, but they don’t use it to push any kind of romantic subplot 
6. It’s modernized, and not in a stupid or pandering way – it allows the characters to be even more clearly portrayed 
7. The set and costumes and stuff are really cool 
8. A quote from the show’s program about their purpose in putting on this play:
   “[there is] a correlation between the fictional environment from which Hamlet emerges … and our post 9/11 reality: societies dominated by the politics of fear. Pick up a paper, turn on the news: there’s Elsinore. Russia, North Korea, Islamic State, Central Africa, and more domestically the Baltimore and Ferguson riot - these are all events framed by, escalated by, or responding to a culture of fear. And although the impact of fear-based politics is perhaps more acutely felt in regions like the middle-east, Western Europe, or Asia, we certainly aren’t free of its effects here in Canada. In the wake of the controversy of our own government’s reaction to terrorism - Bill C-51 - we must understand that the politics of fear are being increasingly used not to justify our protection, but to maintain power and ensure a compliant public. Hamlet is not only a satisfying and thrilling revenge-play, it is an immediate example of the perils of nurturing the politics of fear. It could not be more relevant.” 
9. HAMLET IS ACTUALLY PLAYED LIKE HAMLET. He’s not some old dude, he’s played by a super talented 26ish year old guy playing a depressed college student because thAT’S WHO HAMLET IS. LIKE? Although David Tennant’s Hamlet, for example, is quite good, he’s still too old. He’s not some angsty manchild, he’s a scared and confused and upset kid who’s smart and competent and doing the best he knows how to in his given circumstances. 
10. And, honestly, it’s just a really well done show. Like if this wasn’t already apparent, I have a lot of Hamlet feelings, and a ton of the things that I think are rarely dealt with in other productions are brought full front and centre in this one. 

Sure, I may have a bit of a bias because of my association with the company, but I sincerely think that this is a wonderful and worthwhile production. TL;DR - GO CHECK IT OUT!!!