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Hamlet
by William Shakespeare

Table of Contents
Introduction
1 The Stratford Story
The Play: About Hamlet
2 The Playwright: William Shakespeare
2 Synopsis
3 Timeline: Shakespeare’s Life and World Events
4 Sources and Production History
6 Cast of Characters
The Production: Hamlet at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival
7 Cast List
7 Production Choices
8 There’s a New Dane in Town! - Actor profile: Ben Carlson
Activities
10
Resources
11 Selected Bibliography
11 Online Resources
11 Hamlet on Film
Cover photography:
Ben Carlson as Hamlet.
Photo: David Hou.

Stratford Sha k espear e Festival ~ Study Guide ~ H a mlet 8 1
Introduction
The Stratford Story
That Stratford, Ontario, is the home of the largest classical repertory theatre in
North America is ultimately attributable to the dream of one man, Stratford-born
journalist Tom Patterson.
In the early 1950s, seeing the economy of his home town endangered by the
withdrawal of the railway industry that had sustained it for nearly 80 years,
Patterson conceived the idea of a theatre festival devoted to the works of William
Shakespeare. His vision won the support not only of Stratford City Council and
an enthusiastic committee of citizens, but also of the legendary British actor and
director Tyrone Guthrie, who agreed to become the proposed festival’s first Artistic
Director. The Stratford Shakespearean Festival of Canada was incorporated as a
legal entity on October 31, 1952. A giant canvas tent was ordered from a firm in
Chicago, and in the parklands by Stratford’s Avon River work began on a concrete
amphitheatre at the centre of which was to be a revolutionary thrust stage created
to Guthrie’s specifications by internationally renowned theatrical designer
Tanya Moiseiwitsch.
From the balcony of that stage, on the night of July 13, 1953, actor Alec Guinness
spoke the opening lines of Richard III: “Now is the winter of our discontent/ Made
glorious summer by this sun of York.” Those words marked the triumphant end to
what had sometimes seemed a hopeless struggle against the odds to turn Patterson’s
dream into a reality – and the beginning of an astonishing new chapter in Canadian
theatre history. The other production of that inaugural six-week season, a modern-
dress version of All’s Well That Ends Well, opened the following night, confirming
the opinion of celebrated novelist Robertson Davies that the new Festival was an
achievement “of historic importance not only in Canada, but wherever theatre is
taken seriously – that is to say, in every civilized country in the world.”
Time proved the truth of Davies’ words, for the Festival’s pillared, porticoed
thrust stage revolutionized the performance of classical and contemporary
theatre in the latter half of the 20th century and inspired the design of more than
a dozen other major venues around the world, including the Guthrie Theatre
in Minneapolis, the Beaumont Theatre at Lincoln Centre and, in England, the
Chichester Festival Theatre, the Crucible Theatre in Sheffield and the Olivier
Theatre at the Royal National Theatre in London. Over the years, the Festival has
made some amendments to the original design of Moiseiwitsch’s stage, without
changing its essential format.
At the end of the 1956 season, the giant canvas tent that had housed the
Festival’s first four seasons was dismantled for the last time to make way for a
new and permanent facility to be erected around the existing stage. Designed by
architect Robert Fairfield, the new building would be one of the most distinctive in
the world of the performing arts: its circular floor plan and crenellated roof paying
striking tribute to the Festival’s origins under canvas.
In the years since its first season, the Stratford Shakespeare Festival has set
benchmarks for the production not only of Shakespeare, Molière, the ancient
Greeks and other great dramatists of the past, but also of such 20th-century
masters as Samuel Beckett, Bertolt Brecht, Anton Chekhov, Henrik Ibsen, Eugene
O’Neill, and Tennessee Williams. In addition to acclaimed productions of the
best in operetta and musical theatre, it has also showcased –and in many cases
premièred – works by outstanding Canadian and other contemporary playwrights.
Its artists have included the finest actors, directors and designers in Canada, as
well as many from abroad. Among the internationally renowned performers who
have graced its stages are Alan Bates, Brian Bedford, Douglas Campbell, Len Cariou, Brent Carver, Hume Cronyn, Colm Feore, Megan
Follows, Lorne Greene, Paul Gross, Uta Hagen, Julie Harris, Martha Henry, William Hutt, James Mason, Eric McCormack, Loreena
McKennitt, Richard Monette, John Neville, Nicholas Pennell, Christopher Plummer, Sarah Polley, Douglas Rain, Kate Reid, Jason
Robards, Paul Scofield, William Shatner, Maggie Smith, Jessica Tandy, Peter Ustinov, and Al Waxman.
Drawing audiences of more than 500,000 each year, the Festival season now runs from April to November, with productions being
presented in four unique theatres, and includes a full program of Beyond the Stage activities including concert recitals, discussion
sessions, lectures, and readings by celebrated authors. It offers an extensive program of educational and enrichment activities for
students, teachers, and other patrons, and operates its own in-house school of professional artist development: The Birmingham
Conservatory for Classical Theatre.
Top to bottom: 1953, the tent in which the first productions
at the Stratford Festival were staged; A view of the Festival
Theatre as it stands today; 1954, the interior of the tent in which
productions were staged before the permanent facility was built;
The Festival Theatre stage as it appears today.

ABOUT hamlet
The Playwright
WILLIAM SHAKESPEARE
Born in Stratford-upon-Avon, a small Warwickshire town, in 1564,
William Shakespeare was the eldest son of John Shakespeare, a glover,
and Mary Arden, the daughter of a wealthy farmer. The exact date of his
birth is unknown, but baptismal records point to it being the same as that
of his death, April 23. He probably attended what is now the Edward VI
Grammar School, where he would have studied Latin literature, and at 18,
he married a farmer’s daughter, Anne Hathaway, with whom he had three
children: Susanna, born in 1583, and, two years later, the twins Hamnet
(who died in childhood) and Judith.
Nothing further is known of his life until 1592, when his earliest known
play, the first part of Henry VI, became a hit in London, where Shakespeare
was now working as an actor. Soon afterwards, an outbreak of the plague
forced the temporary closure of the theatres, and Shakespeare turned for
a while to writing poetry. By 1594, however, he was back in the theatre,
acting with the Lord Chamberlain’s Men. He quickly established himself as
one of London’s most successful dramatists, with an income that enabled
him, in 1957, to buy a mansion back in Stratford. In 1599 he became a
shareholder in London’s newly built Globe Theatre.
In 1603, Shakespeare’s company was awarded a royal patent, becoming known as the King’s Men. Possibly as early as 1610,
the playwright retired to his home in Stratford-upon-Avon, living there – and continuing to invest in real estate – until his
death on April 23, 1616. He is buried in the town’s Holy Trinity Church.
In the first collected edition of his works in 1623, fellow dramatist Ben Jonson called him a man “not of an age, but for all
time.” Not only did Shakespeare write some of the most popular plays of all time, but he was a very prolific writer, writing 38
(canonically accepted) works in 23 years. His work covered many subjects and styles, including comedies, tragedies, histories,
and romances, all bearing his hallmark expansive plots, extraordinary language, and humanist themes. Shakespeare enjoyed
great popularity in his lifetime, and 400 years later, he is still the most produced playwright in the world.
Plot Synopsis
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, is in mourning for his father – and deeply disturbed by the speedy remarriage of his mother,
Gertrude, to Claudius, her deceased husband’s brother. When his father’s ghost reveals that he was murdered by Claudius,
Hamlet decides to feign madness until an opportunity for revenge presents itself. Polonius, the Lord Chamberlain, thinks that
Hamlet’s behaviour springs from love for his daughter, Ophelia; but Claudius suspects otherwise when he sees Hamlet savagely
berating her.
The arrival of a travelling theatre company gives Hamlet the idea of re-enacting his father’s murder to startle Claudius
into revealing his guilt. The performance causes an uproar, and as Gertrude remonstrates with her son, Hamlet kills the
eavesdropping Polonius, mistaking him for Claudius. Ophelia, driven mad by grief, later commits suicide. Having evaded one
attempt by Claudius to have him put to death, Hamlet agrees to a fencing match with Ophelia’s brother, Laertes – who secretly
poisons the tip of his sword. Both combatants, however, receive wounds from the poisoned blade. The dying Laertes reveals the
plot, whereupon Hamlet kills Claudius before succumbing to his own inevitable fate.

ABOUT HAMLET
A Shakespearean Timeline
1558 Elizabeth I crowned.
1564 William Shakespeare born.
1572 Actors not under the protection of a patron declared rogues and vagabonds.
1576 “The Theatre”, the first public playhouse in London, opens.
1577 “The Curtain”, London’s second playhouse, opens.
1578 James VI (later James I of England) takes over government of Scotland.
1579 Publication of North’s English translation of Plutarch’s Lives of the Noble Grecians and Romans.
1580 Francis Drake returns in triumph form his voyage around the world; travelling players perform at Stratford.
1582 Shakespeare marries Anne Hathaway; Susanna is born six months later and the twins Hamnet and Judith in 1585.
1587 “The Rose” theatre opens in London. Mary Queen of Scots is executed.
1588 Spanish Armada defeated.
1589 Shakespeare finds work as an actor in London; he lives apart from his wife for 21 years.
1590-1591 The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Taming of the Shrew.
1591 2 Henry VI, 3 Henry VI.
1592 Thousands die of plague in London; theatres closed. 1 Henry VI, Titus Andronicus, Richard III.
1593 The Comedy of Errors.
1594 Shakespeare becomes a shareholder of his theatre company, The Lord Chamberlain’s Men.
1594 Love’s Labour’s Lost.
1595 Richard II, Romeo and Juliet, A Midsummer Night’s Dream.
1596 Shakespeare’s son, Hamnet, dies.
1596-1597 King John, The Merchant of Venice, 1 Henry IV.
1597-1598 The Merry Wives of Windsor, 2 Henry IV, Much Ado About Nothing.
1598 “The Globe” theatre built.
1598-1599 Henry V, Julius Caesar.
1599-1600 As You Like It.
1600-1601 Hamlet, Twelfth Night.
1601 Shakespeare’s patron arrested for treason following the Essex rebellion; he is later pardoned.
1602 Troilus and Cressida.
1603 Queen Elizabeth dies and is succeeded by James I; Shakespeare’s theatre company becomes the King’s Men.
1603 Measure for Measure, Othello.
1604 Work begins on the King James bible.
1604-1605 All’s Well That Ends Well, Timon of Athens, King Lear (Q)
1606 Macbeth, Antony and Cleopatra.
1607 Pericles, Prince of Tyre.
1608 Coriolanus.
1609 The Winter’s Tale.
1610 King Lear (F), Cymbeline.
1610 Shakespeare retires to Stratford-upon-Avon.
1611 The Tempest.
1611 King James version of the bible published.
1613 Henry VIII (All is True), The Two Noble Kinsmen.
1613 “The Globe” theatre burns down.
1616 Shakespeare dies in Stratford-upon-Avon.
1623 The first folio of Shakespeare’s collected plays is published.
* some dates are approximate

ABOUT HAMLET
Sources and
Production History
ABOUT THE PLAY
Written by William Shakespeare sometime between late
1599 – early 1601, mid-way through his career, Hamlet is
often called the greatest play by the greatest playwright.
In Shakespeare’s time there were three different texts of
Hamlet published. The Revenge of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
was entered in the Stationer’s Register in 1602 and is now
known as the First Quarto. In 1604 the Second Quarto
appeared. It was inscribed: “newly imprinted and enlarged
to almost as much againe as it was, according to the true
and perfect Coppie”. A revised, cut version of the Second
Quarto appeared in the First Folio of 1623. Tradition says
Shakespeare played the ghost in the original production.
Hamlet has been performed more than any other play in
the world and has had more written about it than any other
literary work (and has had more translations, more spoofs,
send-ups and spin-offs). “To be or not to be” is the most
quoted phrase in the English language. Hamlet has inspired
26 ballets, six operas and dozens of musical works from
Tchaikovsky and Liszt to Shostakovich. There have been
more than 45 movie versions of Hamlet, including those by
Laurence Olivier, Mel Gibson and Kenneth Branagh. It is
the longest play Shakespeare wrote-running 4 1/2 to 5 hours
uncut. Hamlet has more lines than any other Shakespeare
character - 1,530. In 1899, Max Beerbolm said that Hamlet
was “a hoop through which every eminent actor must, sooner
or later, jump.” According to Michael Pennington (who
played Hamlet, 1980): “One of the reasons audiences admire
the play so much is that everybody in their own lives almost
every day faces the kind of crisis that Hamlet faces, that is,
do you behave like a reactive savage or like a rational and
sensitive human being?”
SOURCES AND ORIGINS
Shakespeare’s source is Ur-Hamlet-a lost play that was popular in London in the 1580’s. It was believed to have been written
by Thomas Kyd, derived from a tale in François Belleforest’s collection Histoire Tragiques (1570). It, in turn was derived
from a 9th century saga about a pre-Viking prince called Amleth (or Amlothi or Amlethus depending on the source). The
saga was recorded by a Danish monk, Saxo Grammaticus, in his Chronicles of the Danish Realm, written around 1200, and
first published in 1514. “Amleth” means “dim-witted” or “simpleton”- a reference to the prince’s feigned madness, which he
assumed to protect himself from his uncle who killed his father. Aspects of the drama are in the tradition that grew from
Seneca (1st century Roman playwright), whose complete works had been translated into English in 1571. Aspects such as a
gloomy, introspective hero, ghosts urging revenge, treacherous horrors and violence all arose from Seneca’s model.
HAMLET IN PERFORMANCE
Hamlet has been performed continually since Shakespeare’s day; the first recorded performance by the Lord Chamberlain’s
Men was in 1602. The play had already been acted “diverse times in the City of London; also in the Universities of Oxford and
Cambridge and elsewhere.”
Some Eminent actors who have played the role
Richard Burbage, David Garrick, John Philip Kemble, Edmund Kean, Sarah Bernhardt, John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier, Alec
Guinness, Paul Scofield, Michael Redgrave, Richard Burton, Peter O’Toole, Christopher Plummer, Ian McKellen, Ben Kingsley,
Albert Finney, Frances de la Tour, Derek Jacobi, Jonathan Pryce, Michael Pennington, Kenneth Branagh, Alan Rickman, Mel
Gibson, Toby Stephens, Sam West, Ralph Fiennes, Daniel Day-Lewis.
Ben Carlson as Hamlet. Photo: David Hou.

STRATFORD Shakespeare FESTIVAL PRODUCTION HISTORY
This is our eighth production of Hamlet and the fifth production to be presented on the Festival Stage.
1957 (Festival Theatre): directed by Michael Langham and designed by Desmond Heeley. The cast included Christopher
Plummer as Hamlet, Douglas Campbell as Claudius, William Hutt as Polonius, Frances Hyland as Ophelia and Joy Lafleur as
Gertrude.
1969 (Festival Theatre): directed by John Hirsch and designed by Sam Kirkpatrick. The cast included Kenneth Walsh as
Hamlet, Anne Anglin as Ophelia, James Blendick asHoratio, Leo Ciceri asClaudius, Powys Thomas as Polonius, and Angela
Wood as Gertrude.
1976 (Avon Theatre): directed by Robin Phillips and William Hutt and designed by Daphne Dare (sets) and John Pennoyer
(costumes). The cast included Richard Monette and Nicholas Pennell alternating in the role of Hamlet, Pat Bentley-Fisher and
Pat Galloway alternating as Gertrude, Eric Donkin as Polonius, Michael Liscinsky as Claudius, Marti Maraden as Ophelia and
Stephen Russell as Horatio.
1986 (Avon Theatre): directed by John Neville and designed by Sue LePage. The cast included Brent Carver as Hamlet, James
Blendick as Claudius, Richard Curnock as Polonius, Lorne Kennedy as Horatio, Lucy Peacock as Ophelia, Elizabeth Shepherd
as Gertrude and Scott Wentworth as Laertes.
1991 (Festival Theatre): directed by David William and designed by Debra Hanson. The cast included Colm Feore as Hamlet,
Edward Atienza as Polonius, Wayne Best as Horatio, Sidonie Boll as Ophelia, Patricia Collins as Gertrude, Leon Pownall as
Claudius and Brad Rudy as Horatio.
1994 (Tom Patterson Theatre): directed by Richard Monette and designed by Debra Hanson. The cast included Stephen
Ouimette as Hamlet, Antoni Cimolino as Laertes, Peter Donaldson as Claudius, Sabrina Grdevich as Ophelia, William Hutt as
Ghost and First Grave-digger, Tom McCamus as Horatio, Douglas Rain as Polonius and Janet Wright as Gertrude.
2000 (Festival Theatre): Directed by Joseph Ziegler and designed by Christina Poddubiuk. The cast included Graham Abbey as
Laertes, Damien Atkins as Osric, Domini Blythe as Gertrude, Evan Builiung as Rosencrantz, Benedict Campbell as Claudius,
Marion Day as Ophelia, Jerry Franken as Polonius and David Keeley as Horatio.
Christopher Plummer as Hamlet (1957) Brent Carver as Hamlet (1986)

ABOUT HAMLET
Cast of Characters
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark
King Claudius, King of Denmark, Hamlet’s uncle
Ghost of the late king, Hamlet’s father
Queen Gertrude, the Queen, Hamlet’s mother, now wife of Claudius
Polonius, councillor of State
Laertes, Polonius’ son
Ophelia, Polonius’ daughter
Horatio, friend and confidant of Hamlet
Rosencrantz courtiers, former schoolfellows
Guildenstern of Hamlet
Fortinbras, Prince of Norway
Voltemand Danish councillors,
Cornelius ambassadors to Norway
Marcellus
Barnardo members of the King’s guard
Francisco
Osric, a foppish courtier
Reynaldo, a servant of Polonius
Players
Gentleman of the court
Priest
Grave-digger
Other grave-digger
Captain in Fortinbras’ army
English ambassadors
Lords, ladies, soldiers, sailors, messengers and attendants
Top to Bottom: James Blendick as the Ghost of Hamlet's father; Bruce
Godfree as Laertes and Scott Wentworth as Claudius. Photos: David Hou.
Suggested Topics for Discussion
1. Have your students read Hamlet: discuss what they expect to see on the stage when they attend the performance of
Hamlet at the Stratford Shakespeare Festival. Have each student make a list of predictions about what they expect. Save these
predictions. After seeing the show, revisit them to see how they compared to the actual production.
2. Have your students make a story map or a story board outlining the main events of the play. (This may be used later in
group activities.)
3. Hamlet has appealed to artists and audiences around the world for 400 years. What do your students think the play’s
message is? What parts did they respond to most? Were there parts they wished were different? How?
4. Have your students create a character web showing how all the characters are connected to each other. Discuss the
complexity of these relationships and how they affect the progression of the play.

ABOUT HAMLET
2008 Stratford Shakespeare Festival Production
Festival Theatre
April 23 to October 26, 2008
Artistic Team
Director..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Adrian Noble
Designer......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Santo Loquasto
Lighting Designer........................................................................................................................................................................................................................Michael Walton
Cast List
The Royal Family
Hamlet, Prince of Denmark.............................................................................................................................................................................................................Ben Carlson
The Ghost of Old Hamlet, his father....................................................................................................................................................................................... James Blendick
Claudius, his uncle and now King of Denmark..................................................................................................................................................................Scott Wentworth
Gertrude, his mother and now Claudius’s Queen..................................................................................................................................................................Maria Ricossa
The Courtiers
Polonius, counsellor to the King...................................................................................................................................................................................... Geraint Wyn Davies
Laertes, his son...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Bruce Godfree
Ophelia, his daughter................................................................................................................................................................................................................Adrienne Gould
Voltemand.........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................David Francis
Cornelius................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ John Innes
Reynaldo...............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ron Kennell
Osric....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Juan Chioran
A Gentlewoman............................................................................................................................................................................................................................ Barbara Fulton
Ladies-in-Waiting..................................................................................................................................................................Leah Keeley, Teresa Renee, Daniela Vlaskalic
Hamlet’s Companions
Horatio.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Tom Rooney
Rosencrantz....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................David Leyshon
Guildenstern.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Patrick McManus
The Watch
Barnardo.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Stephen Kent
Marcellus....................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Stephen Russell
Francisco...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Patrick McManus
The Players
Player Prologue.......................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Sean Baek
Player King...................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Victor Ertmanis
Player Queen..............................................................................................................................................................................................................................Daniela Vlaskalic
Player Poisoner...........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Ins Choi
At the Graveyard
First Gravedigger........................................................................................................................................................................................................................Victor Ertmanis
Second Gravedigger....................................................................................................................................................................................................................Randy Hughson
Priest........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ John Innes
The Norwegian Army
Fortinbras.................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Jeff Lillico
Captain........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... Stephen Russell
Soldiers......................................................................................................................Sean Baek, Ins Choi, David Francis, Randy Hughson, John Innes, Stephen Kent
Musicians................................................................................................................................................................................ Michel Allard, Andrew Bensler, John Fekete,
Jerome Summers, Michael E. Wood
Alternate.............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................Steven Pierre
Production Choices
PERIOD AND SETTING
Shakespeare’s play takes place in Denmark in pre-Viking days. Some believe during the time of Canute (1014-1035).
Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare suggests 1050.
Our production is set in a royal household during the Edwardian period, around 1910.

With apologies to William Shakespeare, “There is a role in
the repertoire of actors, which taken at the flood, leads on to
fortune.”
That role, of course, is Hamlet. There are few characters in
literature, dramatic or otherwise, so well known as the
melancholy Dane. For an actor, it’s a role simultaneously desired
and dreaded – a pinnacle of achievement and a true test of skill.
As former Festival artistic director Richard Monette – who has
both played Hamlet (twice) and directed the play – once told an
audience at Concordia University, “There is only one good reason
for becoming an actor, and that is to aspire to play the role of
Hamlet. It is no mystery why actors want to play Hamlet. The role,
the longest in all of Shakespeare, engages every aspect of an
actor’s equipment and being.”
This season’s Hamlet, directed by former Royal Shakespeare
Company artistic director Adrian Noble and designed by Santo
Loquasto, is the eighth production of the play at Stratford and the
fifth to be presented on the Festival stage. Christopher Plummer
played Stratford’s very first Hamlet in 1957, to be followed by
Kenneth Welsh in 1969, Richard Monette and Nicholas Pennell
(alternating in the role) in 1976, Brent Carver in 1986, Colm Feore
in 1991, Stephen Ouimette in 1994 and Paul Gross in 2000. And
now Stratford newcomer Ben Carlson prepares to take to the
Festival stage as the eponymous prince – and if the readiness is
all, this affable, articulate and accomplished actor is poised for
great success.
Though new to the Stratford Shakespeare Festival, Mr. Carlson
is well known to theatregoers across Canada and in the United
States, with an impressive list of credits and awards to his name.
Born into a theatre family (his parents are veterans of both the
Stratford and Shaw festivals), he was already working steadily
as an actor even before graduating from George Brown College
in 1993. He has spent the last 12 seasons at the Shaw Festival in
Niagara-on-the-Lake, where his credits include John Tanner/Don
Juan (a role even wordier than Hamlet!) in Man and Superman,
Cauchon in St. Joan, Charteris in The Philanderer, Andrei in Three
Sisters, Eustace in The Return of the Prodigal, Georg in She Loves Me,
Hamlet:
There’s a New
Dane in Town!
by Andrea Jackson, education co-ordinator
Ben Carlson becomes the ninth
in a distinguished line of actors
to play Hamlet at the Stratford
Shakespeare Festival.
Frank in Mrs. Warren’s Profession and Constantine in The Seagull.
He has also worked at such other Canadian theatres as
Soulpepper, the National Arts Centre, Neptune Theatre, Prairie
Theatre Exchange, Theatre Calgary, The Grand Theatre, Canadian
Stage, Manitoba Theatre Centre and Theatre New Brunswick. He
received a Dora Award nomination for his performance as Simon
Bliss in Hay Fever at Canadian Stage and the Grand, a Dora Award
for his Torvald in The Doll House at DVxT theatre in Toronto and
a Joseph Jefferson Award for best actor for his 2006 portrayal of
Hamlet at the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre – a performance that
the Chicago critics tagged as reason alone to see the production.
“In a word,” declared Toronto Star theatre critic Richard
Ouzounian, “he’s brilliant.”
This, then, is not the first time that Mr. Carlson has stepped into
these well-worn and yet still potentially blister-inducing shoes.
But how does an actor react to being offered a part that can be
such a blessing yet also such a burden?
Paul Gross was reluctant to take on the role when it was first
offered to him by Richard Monette in 2000, professing himself
unsure of whether he could actually pull it off. (He did.) Stephen
Ouimette’s reaction in 1994 was, as he recalls in Richard
Ouzounian’s 2002 book Stratford Gold, “terror, of course!” Colm
Feore thought it rather “biblical” that he should be asked to play
Hamlet at the age of 33, and decided it was a make-or-break point
in his career.
Michael Pennington, a renowned British Hamlet, remarks
in the book Players of Shakespeare, edited by Philip Brockbank,
that among those who have played Hamlet, the role is “the
source surprisingly often of regret, and occasionally of real self-
definition.” The regret, it would seem, stems from the discoveries
that still keep occurring too late, once the run is over. As Stephen
Ouimette says in Stratford Gold, “I was reading [the play] the other
day and thinking, oh god, yeah, now I get that! I understand
what that one little phrase means.” In the same book, Colm Feore
says: “I was never finished [learning about Hamlet]. I’m still not
finished. I still think about Hamlet.”
Obviously, it’s a role that can affect the actor who plays
it. “Actors have to be careful,” says Mr. Carlson. “There’s a
tendency in acting to let the work inform your life. Hamlet’s a
man tormented by grief, visited by ghosts, afraid for his sanity,
with serious issues with his mother, father and lover, who ends
up wantonly killing three people and being at least indirectly
responsible for the deaths of five others. Sometimes it’s best to
leave work at the workplace!”
As he begins rehearsals for Hamlet, Mr. Carlson is in the
enviable position of having a second chance to explore both the
play and the role – while also complementing that exploration
with his work on his two other roles in the season, Tranio in The
Taming of the Shrew and the First Lord Dumaine in All’s Well That
Ends Well.
“The great thing about working in repertory,” he says, “is
that it stretches your acting muscles in different ways than an
ordinary run. In Chicago we did eight shows of Hamlet a week,
for three months. That was great, but exhausting. Here, the

most we’ll do Hamlet will be three times a week, which presents
its own challenges, but I’m very excited at the prospect of being
able to do the show at full energy every single time.”
Having already gained tremendous insight from his previous
experiences (he also played Horatio in a production of the play
at the National Arts Centre in Ottawa in 2004), Mr. Carlson is
nonetheless looking forward to further discoveries. Some things,
however, remain constant for him.
“My approach is very much text first,” he says. “I love it when
the focus is on the text, especially with Shakespeare, because the
text is so good. In my opinion, character always is in the service
of the play, not the other way around, so any decisions – and with
Hamlet there are tons – have to be informed by the play.”
And the play, it would seem, can be a difficult nut to crack.
Paul Gross puzzled extensively over Hamlet’s first soliloquy, “O
that this too too solid flesh would melt,” finding it extraordinarily
broken up and full of incomplete sentences. Mr. Carlson concurs:
“The very first soliloquy I found quite difficult, partially because
it’s the first real insight the audience has into the character and
partially because of a strange, almost remote quality in the
writing. Hamlet is grieving, but is unable to express his grief
properly, even to himself – and he has a great deal of anger
towards his mother. I hope when we work on that first scene I
can explore just how much Hamlet keeps to himself with the
court, and how much he’s able or unable to express to himself in
the soliloquy – in other words, how well he understands his own
grief. It all becomes much easier when Horatio appears. Thank
God for Horatio.”
Despite the body count at the end, Hamlet isn’t all doom and
gloom. Michael Pennington recalled his surprise at finding how
much fun it was to play this demanding part. Mr. Carlson feels
the same about his experience in Chicago, which he describes as
“harrowing” but nonetheless enjoyable. “At the end of the play,
after a great deal of hard work playing Hamlet, the poor tired
actor has to perform a duel. I was really happy to discover that by
the end I was ready for that duel, and it was fun to do. That was a
revelation, and it came on the first preview.”
There are many things Mr. Carlson is looking forward to during
his first season at Stratford, not the least of which is concentrating
on Shakespeare. “All actors should work on Shakespeare as much
as they can,” he says. “No other playwright has kept more actors
in work, because nobody’s ever been as good a playwright.”
There are also many things we, the audience, can look forward
to in this first production of Hamlet at the Festival in eight years
– not the least of which is the prospect of a thrilling performance
from Ben Carlson. Enter the player!
“My approach is very much text first.
I love it when the focus is on the text,
especially with Shakespeare”
Ben Carlson
BenCarlsonasHamlet.Photo:DavidHou.

Hamlet
Activities
Here are some ideas to get your class launched into the play in a fresh way.
*1. Most Horrible!
In Act 1, scene 5, the Ghost hints at the terrors of its suffering. It cannot go to
heaven because it died before it could confess its sins; so it must suffer dreadfully
in purgatory. According to Roman Catholic belief, purgatory is the place where
unconfessed sinners experience indescribable remorse as their sins are burnt and
purged away before they can see God in heaven.
Have students experiment with readings of lines 9-22 that will make the
audience shrink back in their seats! Have them add sound effects as you think
appropriate. If possible, audio-record their final version as a radio broadcast.
Students may find it inspiring to google Hieronymus Bosch (1450-1516), an artist
who painted the tortures of the dead (or look through art history books in the
library). It may help them to imagine the Ghost’s torments.
2. CSI Elsinore
Ideally students will have read to the end of the play but it is not necessary.
Gil Grissom and the rest of the CSI team have been called in to plot the deadly course of events in a tragic multiple murder
that has wiped out an entire dynasty.
1. Split students into two groups, A and B. Divide each group into two parts: witnesses and CSI team
members. If possible, separate groups A and B into different spaces to work.
2. Cordon off the area to preserve evidence, tape the outlines where the bodies have died and through witness
testimony piece together the tragic events of that fateful night. Start from Act 5, Scene 2, lines 244 – 353.
3. Have each group walk you (Gil Grissom) through the course of events that occurred that evening. How are the
two scenes different?
3. Beautiful Death? Romanticizing Ophelia
Part 1: In Act 4, scene 7, lines 166-183, Gertrude describes to Laertes how his sister, Ophelia, drowned. Ophelia’s death has
been romanticized through the ages, most notably perhaps in the painting ‘Ophelia’ by Victorian painter Millais. For this
exercise students will need to have a photo of the painting for reference (see below).
In pairs, have students explore Gertrude’s account of Ophelia’s drowning as follows: one person reads the lines aloud; the
other listens and studies the picture. Exchange roles and repeat. Have students identify particular lines or words that Millais
used as a basis for his painting. They should also talk about what elements of the script are missing from the painting.
Part 2: In Judith Tompson’s play Lion in the Streets, Joanne, who has bone cancer, asks her friend, Rhonda, to help her die like
Ophelia. Rhonda replies with a much more realistic description of what that would be like.
Have students read Rhonda’s description of drowning from Lion in the Streets and create their own painting/drawing/piece
of artwork based on this new description.
Ophelia by John Everett Millais (1852) Ophelia by Alexandre Cabanel (1883)
* adapted from the Cambridge School edition of Hamlet (Cambridge UP, 1994)

Resources
FOR Hamlet
Shakespeare: History, Criticism and Biography
Beckerman, Bernard. Shakespeare and the Globe, 1599-1609. 1962.
Bentley, G.E. Shakespeare: A Biographical Handbook. 1951.
Boyce, Charles. Shakespeare A to Z. 1990.
Brown, Ivor. Shakespeare and the Actors. 1970.
Brown, John Russell. Shakespeare and his Theatre.
Burgess, Anthony. Shakespeare. 1970.
Campbell, Oscar James, ed. The Reader’s Encyclopedia of Shakespeare. 1966.
Dobson, Michael, ed. The Oxford Companion to Shakespeare. 2001.
Epstein, Norrie. The Friendly Shakespeare. 1992.
Frye, R. M. Shakespeare’s Life and Times: a Pictorial Record. 1067.
Gurr, Andrew. The Shakespearean Stage, 1574-1642. 1980.
Hodges, C. Walter. Shakespeare and the Players. 1948.
Muir, Kenneth and Samuel Schoenbaum, eds. A New Companion to Shakespeare Studies, 1985.
Nagler, A. M. Shakespeare’s Stage. 1985.
Schoenbaum, Samuel. William Shakespeare: A Documentary Life. 1975.
Taylor, Gary. Reinventing Shakespeare. 1989.
Thomson, Peter. Shakespeare’s Theatre. 1983.
Tillyard, E. M. W. The Elizabethan World Picture. 1943.
Wells, Stanley, ed. The Cambridge Companion to Shakespeare Studies. 1986.
Teaching Shakespeare
Asimov, Isaac. Asimov’s Guide to Shakespeare. New York, 1970.
Edens, Walter, et al. Teaching Shakespeare. New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1977.
Gibson, Rex. Secondary School Shakespeare. Cambridge: 1990.
Gibson, Rex. Teaching Shakespeare. 1998.
Gibson, Rex & Field-Pickering, Janet. Discovering Shakespeare’s Language. Cambridge: 1998.
O’Brien, Veronica. Teaching Shakespeare. London, 1982.
Hamlet
Garfield, Leon. Shakespeare Stories. Puffin Books. 1985.
Shakespeare, William. Hamlet. Cambridge School. 1994.
Online Resources
Mr. William Shakespeare and the Internet shakespeare.palomar.edu
Sh:in:E Shakespeare in Europe www.unibas.ch/shine
Feste: database of productions at the
Royal Shakespeare Company and
Shakespeare Memorial Theatre www.shakespeare.org.uk/content/view/339/339/
Encyclopaedia Britannica’s Guide to Shakespeare search.eb.com/shakespeare
Shakespeare’s Life and Times web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLT/intro/introsubj.html
Shakespeare Online www.shakespeare-online.com
Movie Review Query Engine www.mrqe.com
Internet Movie Database www.imdb.com
Hamlet Online
The Complete Works of William Shakespeare at MIT shakespeare.mit.edu/hamlet/index.html
BookRags.com Homepage www.bookrags.com/Hamlet
SparkNotes www.sparknotes.com/shakespeare/hamlet/
The Literature Network www.online-literature.com/shakespeare/hamlet/
Hamlet on Film
1996 (UK): Hamlet. Directed by Kenneth Branagh; starring Kenneth Branagh, Judi Dench, Julie Christie.
1948 (UK): Hamlet. Directed by Laurence Olivier; starring Laurence Olivier, Eileen Herlie, Jean Simmons.

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