All the world's a stage....

This is a space to share your love for the Barbican production of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Whether you've seen the play in London or via NTLive, feel free to share your reviews, congratulations or art with the world.

[talesofhamlet]

My Adventures in Shakespeare :)

I was very lucky to have seen this wonderful production 3 times. On my birthday (24), with a friend (27) & Closing Night.

Here are some musings from the last two viewings and how I actually ended up watching the last performance of Hamlet.

Second Show - Row C: Sitting as close as we were allowed me to see the most lovely sights. As Hamlet returned and was speaking to Horatio. When he laid there, watching the grave maker's scene. His reaction to Ophelia. The surprise and the glistening of tears in his eyes. That chocked me up a bit. Horatio held him and it hurt to see it. Such a beautiful play. Taking it all in was lovely and the cast is all marvelous. Absolutely wonderful. Over a year of a wait and worth every second of it. Brilliant! Closing Night - Gallery: I had not planned to attend the show. All my friends were in the theatre and I'd decided to wait outside. As I walked with a friend, Benedict's Parents and Sophie walked by us heading into the theater. That was totally unexpected and quite a lovely sight. I walked towards the ticket return line. It was short and I figured it was worth taking a chance on so I got in line. This is when Rebecca Hall and friends walked by. I feel like these were sort of strong nudges from the universe telling me to try. One of the Barbican ticket people came up to the two first girls and they got stalls which was great and then he came back to us and told us what he had. I got a ticket in the gallery which feels like you're a bit of a bird from the view it gives you. It was absolutely beautiful seeing them perform from that vantage, to see more of that beautiful stage which I had missed in the previous two viewings. It was slow. It was measured and Benedict's emotions moved me so much more. He cried when speaking of his father, the king. His emotion choked me up more than once but the passion in that moment got me. Everyone brought their A game for this last performance. It was a joy to have shared the end of the run with a theatre full of people there for the same purpose. Who were moved, touched and experienced it for the first or for the 100th time. I'll never forget my first Shakespeare as it was an unbelievable production with an incredible cast which was shared with so many lovely friends. I'm very lucky to have seen it. 

[talesofhamlet]

tis in my memory lock'd!

Okay well I said I'd do this so I am!

Here is my Hamlet tale! I have a terrible tendency to waffle so i'll try not to go too crazy.

First point I want to make is that I suffer from rather intense anxiety and agoraphobia. Things are better than they used to be, but they are far from "normal". 2 hours on a train to London seems like absolutely nothing to most people but to me it was one of the most terrifying things I could imagine.

In March 2014 we heard Benedict was going to play Hamlet sometime the following year.

In May 2014 we were given details about tickets coming out in August.

At approximately 1:30am in the morning on what I think was the 6th of August 2014 I bought orange membership to the Barbican and bought a ticket to the matinee of September 19th 2015.

I now had a goal.

Feeling conflicted was an understatement. I wanted to go, I wanted to go SO BADLY. SO SO SO BADLY. But would my stupid broken brain let me? I was not filled with confidence....

On 19th September 2015 I travelled to London to see Hamlet.

To say I'm surprised I got there is yet another understatement. But I did...and I still can't quite believe I did.

Nearly 5 years I've had major anxiety problems affecting me every day and I've tried and tried and tried and everything is just so bloody difficult and scary....even after I had been to London on opening night to meet lots of friends from twitter as my "practice run" (which was FABULOUS. WOW. Thank you everyone who was there you were all so lovely and supportive and I'm so happy I got to meet you)..even on the 18th of September I was still worried that if I said it out loud and committed to saying I would going I would somehow jinx it....

....but deep down I knew....and I was SO...grateful...to have found something that made me think "there is so VERY little my anxiety can do to me to make me not at least try this". Never has a goal felt so worth it.

The building up to it over the months from May to September of 2015 gave me some fantastic experiences I may never have had, had I not been determined to get to this show.

 I feel I haven't really mentioned Hamlet but that is really the heart of my tale.

I will say though, it was my first time seeing Benedict live or "for real" ever..and what a way to start out. I got to the Barbican on the day and met so many lovely friends, some arranged and some by accident. The play was STUNNING.

Seeing it for myself live, seeing it live at the cinema with friends ,seeing an encore a week or so later (both of these events were in their own way...yet more anxiety combatting challenges that I felt more than happy to face in order to see this show) and enjoying the reaction pretty much every night of those 3 months as more and more friends experienced the show for themselves and shared their joy with us.

What an absolutely magical time it's been. Such a long stretch of anticipation..such a long wait and now it's over. But never forgotten.

[talesofhamlet]

Over a month of performances done. So many people have been able to experience Hamlet for the first time in their lives.

It only makes the journey towards my day the more exciting. The very first time I’ll be able to see Shakespeare performed before my eyes.

I count myself to be lucky to be able to see this play in person. It’s something so special that I’m glad I get to experience.

Remember that you are welcome to post here. Feel free to share your art, photos or your experience with us.

Share, Reblog & Enjoy!

[talesofhamlet]

My Hamlet experience in one word: perfect. Benedict became my fave Hamlet (even though he didn't believe me when I told him so lol) and I had such a good time seeing the play.

Benedict is a hurricane on stage, there's so much energy (so much sweat), great timing, sadness, madness... And it's not just him. The rest of the cast is great as well and the stage is impressive (I had a mini heart attack everytime someone was running down those stairs).

Like I said: perfect! :)

[talesofhamlet]

My Hamlet tale....

There have been a couple of times I’ve been struck dumb by something truly astounding… 

1) Watching a NASA space shuttle return from space, breaking the sound barrier as it glided to earth. 

 2) Flying in a helicopter in the Grand Canyon and realizing how small I am on this planet. 

 3) And watching Hamlet. To be fair the entire build-up to the play itself, and the aftermath, were pretty amazing too. Friends, drinks, late night strolls (thank you Tube drivers!), huge ballgowns, rum cocktails, champagne, afternoon tea….oh and did I mention friends?

To be able to share in the whole Hamlet experience with people who truly appreciate it and who you can fangirl with, makes it an infinitely better thing, in my opinion. It’s one thing to see a masterpiece with your own eyes. It’s another to be able to see the delight in someone else’s.

I spent three hours wide-eyed, in awe, mouth agape. Gripping the hand of my friend as the events unfolded. Seeing Benedict on stage, so close. Doing what he is incredible at, doing what he revels in. The way he forms his mouth to speak, sets his jaw. The way he moves across the stage.

And similarly for the other cast members, who literally danced around him.

What’s to say that’s not already been said though, without officially reviewing it? We all know by now that Es Devlin’s set is a living, breathing, work of art. That the music is both iconic and mesmerizing. That if you’re close to the front you may get confetti in places maybe you shouldn’t.

I can tell you this. You will not be able to take your eyes off it. ​

[talesofhamlet]

I'm curious...why is this blog only concentrated on the Barbican's production of Hamlet? There are productions of Hamlet (and other Shakespeare plays) occurring all over the world that are equally (if not more) deserving of praise.

Hello There!

Thanks for your question. The reason why this is focused on the Barbican production is because this will be my first experience with live Shakespeare, a play in London and Hamlet.

I know that I’m not the only one experiencing all of these firsts so I thought this would be a great place for everyone to come together and share their stories and excitement regarding the production.

I would never discount any other production of Hamlet or Shakespeare plays around the world. Every cast brings their own beautiful spin to it and I wish I could highlight them all but my reach is small as is my experience with it.

I hope that answered your question.

[talesofhamlet]

It’s finally here!

After a year of waiting, the first performance of Hamlet has arrived.

I’m excited to see so many coming from all over the globe to see this production. I look forward to hearing stories about the experience that we’ll all share through this run.

Remember to enjoy every single minute of it and feel free to post here regarding your journey.

Share, Reblog & Enjoy!

[talesofhamlet]

Hello Everyone!

Thank you for coming along on this journey with us. There's 5 days until the First performance of Hamlet and I couldn't be more excited for everyone attending.

People are coming from all over the world for this production and I'm positive that it will be an amazing adventure for everyone watching Live or via NT Live.

Please spread the word about this page and Enjoy :)