World premiere in Toronto.Imagine Shakespeare’s Hamlet without a single word!
How to translate the tragedy of the Prince of Denmark with his reflection, suffering and the famous “To be or not to be…” into the language of dance and gesture?
Is it possible?
Yes, perhaps, if talented artists take up the business – the world-famous Canadian director Robert Lepage and the star of the National Ballet of Canada Guillaume Cote.
Residents and guests of Toronto can see how successful this daring project is if they are lucky enough to get to the world premiere of the ballet “The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, which is presented to the Canadian audience by Show One Productions.It is known that sometimes, when it is necessary to transmit the heat of passion, words are powerless. Facial expressions, gesture, movement come to the rescue. So in this case, the lines of the immortal drama come to life in the language of dance thanks to the brilliant performance of the Côté Danse troupe, as well as the unique scenery and visual effects of Ex Machina.
The idea of the project was not born by chance – this was preceded by a long cooperation between the director and the choreographer. Not so long ago, Toronto applauded their joint work, the ballet “Frame by Frame”. The style of modern dance inherent in Cote’s choreography and the uniqueness of Robert Lepage’s directing make their union organic and bring unexpected fruit. Canadian Robert Lepage is considered one of the greatest avant-garde theater directors in the world. The tendency to bold experiments with theatrical forms and, in particular, acting, became his calling card. Even at the beginning of his creative path, he was characterized by the destruction of old theatrical canons and the search for new modern visual languages at the junction, turning the stage into a kind of multimedia space. Interest in mixing different types of art was especially manifested when Robert Lepage came to cinema – first as an actor in the film “Jesus of Montreal” by Denis Arcan, and then as a director in the films “Confessional” and “The Other Side of the Moon.” In all his works, Lepage is passionate about the idea of existence and intersection of parallel worlds. He tries to equalize matter and consciousness in rights. To do this, he is actively experimenting with a visual series. In 1994, he founded the multidisciplinary production company Ex Machina, on the basis of which many famous theatrical productions were created, including Shakespeare’s “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” and “Elsinor”. In 2008, on the day of the 400th anniversary of Quebec, Lepage and Ex Machina presented the largest architectural projection in world history “The Image Mill”. In 2009, a permanent light installation “Aurora Borealis” (“Northern Lights”) was created in the same place, inspired by the colors and colors of a unique natural phenomenon. But not only theater and cinema attracted Robert Lepage, he is the set designer and director of such world-famous Cirque du Soleil shows as “KA” and “TOTEM”. The next big stage in the Artist’s life was the opera. He has staged many opera performances, including such grandiose ones as “The Ring of the Nibelungs” at the Metropolitan Opera and “The “The Storm” based on Shakespeare’s play of the same name. Cooperation with the Theater of Nations in Russia was a special period in the life of Robert Lepazh. In 2013, he released the play “Hamlet | Collage” with Evgeny Mironov, who performed all the roles. Here’s what Robert Lepage said about Shakespeare’s “Hamlet” then: “This is a play about a man driven to madness. Hamlet’s main problem is that he thinks too much. He can’t find a solution to the problem… After all, the powerful symbol of “Hamlet” is the skull. That’s why Shakespeare composes a huge scene where there is a skull, it’s also, after all, a human head…” According to Shakespeare, Prince Hamlet of Denmark did not go crazy – he wanted to seem crazy to mislead the enemy. This is how the directors of the whole world have interpreted the play for more than four centuries. Hamlet had enough reasons for deep worries: his father’s funeral, his mother’s and his uncle’s wedding, the appearance of a ghost, the news that his father was killed, an order or a request for retaliation… Moreover, all these events happen one after another! “It’s hard to understand when Hamlet is really crazy and when he’s pretending. In any case, it’s a play about madness,” Robert Lepage is sure. If you accept this version, everything that happens on the stage becomes clear and logical. Now we will see how Hamlet’s madness will be embodied not through words, but through dance and movement. And here the choreography and skill of Guillaume Cote, who solos in the image of a “mad prince”, come to the fore.
Guillaume Cote is perhaps the most famous Canadian ballet dancer. He performed most of the main classical parts in the National Ballet of Canada and has been the principal (leading male performer) of the troupe for more than 20 years. As a guest artist, he danced as part of the world’s most famous ballet theaters, including The Royal Ballet, Bolshoi Theater, American Ballet Theater, New York City Ballet, Teatro alla Scala and others. In 2011, Guillaume was awarded the La médaille de l’Assemblée Nationale du Québec award for his work in the field of art, and in June 2021, he was initiated into the Knights of the National Order of Quebec – the most prestigious award established by the Government of the Province of Quebec. It is worth recalling that in world culture, the image of Hamlet has been embodied many times in different forms: dramatic theater, cinema, music, painting and ballet as well. What Robert Lepage and Guillaume Cote will present to us is not the first attempt to transfer Shakespeare’s drama to the language of dance. There are about ten such productions to the music of different composers, made at different times. Among them are “Hamlet” by Bronislava Nizhinskaya to the music of Ferenc Liszt; Robert Helpman’s ballet to the music of Tchaikovsky’s overture; production of Radu Poklitar and Declan Donnellan to the music of Shostakovich. For “Hamlet” by Lepage and Cote, the original music was written by composer John Gzowski, in the modern style of which includes the sound of a string instrument of Shakespeare’s time – Hurdy-gourdy, which gives a special flavor to what is happening and transports us five centuries ago to the atmosphere of the first production of “Hamlet” at the Globe Theatre. Perhaps those who come to the ballet “Hamlet” in Toronto will discover something new, previously unread and elusive in this immortal play, which is undoubtedly the most philosophical in Shakespeare’s work. Hamlet’s image embodies an existential image created by Shakespeare’s genius long before the appearance of existentialism. The thoughts, actions and spiritual torments of the Prince of Denmark make people think about the meaning of life and death for many centuries. His famous monologue “To be or not to be” is a reflection on the topic of the choice that always stands before a person. Make your own, come to the world premiere of “Hamlet” of the 21st century. Show One Productions celebrates its 20th anniversary this year. Fans of music and theater are well aware of this name and the name of its founder-producer Svetlana Dvoretskaya. Over the years, Svetlana and a team of like-minded people have presented dozens of unforgettable shows and concerts to all fans and connoisseurs of the cultural life of Canada. Even the mere listing of the names of celebrities who performed on the stages of Toronto thanks to Show One Productions causes delight and gratitude: Dmitry Hvorostovsky, Anna Netrebko and Sandra Radvanovsky; Mikhail Baryshnikov and Boris Eifman’s ballet; virtuoso pianists Luke Debarg and Polina Osetinskaya; Gidon Kremer and Vladimir Spivakov; Slava Polunin with scale circus shows and many others who made our lives brighter and more beautiful. Now the list of significant events will be replenished with the world premiere of the ballet “Hamlet” Those who come to the historical Elgin Theater in early April will have a great opportunity not only to see a new performance, but also to congratulate Svetlana Dvoretskaya and the Show One Productions team on their anniversary and wish further prosperity and creative achievements!
THE WORLD PREMIERE OF THE BALLET “HAMLET” WILL TAKE PLACE IN TORONTO ELGIN THEATRE. 189 Yonge Street. April 3 – 7.
Alyona Zhukova – screenwriter, writer, editor-in-chief of the magazine “Novyi Svet”
