Sofa Spotlight - Hamlet Globe to Globe, Dominic Dromgoole

Last year I spent some time reading Hamlet again, possibly the first time I’d read it since studying it for A-level. It was part of a campaign I had to read all of Shakespeare’s works. That didn’t work out so well and I quickly found that spending time studying Hamlet had greatly enhanced my enjoyment of it – an element that was missing in my reading of the other plays. So, I’ve given up until a later date.

The result of the above musing was that I thought that Hamlet Globe to Globe would be a good read. The idea is that Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre tried to take Hamlet to every country in the world and on the whole succeeded. I enjoyed the connections that were made between elements of Hamlet and the cultures that were encountered on the journey.

I think what I appreciated the most was the way that it allowed me to explore Hamlet again. There’s a difference between studying a play for an exam and being able to think about it for pleasure. I would say that there are benefits to both, but this book reopened the play to me and took me around the world as part of the deal!

This is a book I would recommend. The author comes across as very down to earth and human, and not afraid to talk about the less than glamourous side of the tour. It’s fun and informative – what more could you want from a book?