Thursday, March 3, 2022

That Time I Saw "Hamlet" At Hamlet's Castle...

I came across a photo of a Northern European castle the other day.

It brought back the memories.

If you're unfamiliar with this particular castle, it's in the city of Elsinore. Many call it Elsinore Castle, but to me it'll always be Kronborg Castle. You may not know much about the castle, but there's a good chance you know something of it. This castle is the setting for William Shakespeare's Hamlet. 

As a LDS missionary living in Denmark so many years ago, I visited the castle on several occasions, but there was one time that was flat-out amazing. I was able to see a theatrical production of Hamlet performed at Hamlet's Castle.

The production was from a British theater troupe. They performed outside the castle using the eastern wall as the backdrop. In the picture there's a white tent where the grandstand was. There's were we sat. Even though it's been decades, I still remember that night. Occasionally, the sounds of ferries and other boats could be heard in the strait between Denmark and Sweden.

I'm not the most "theater" person out there, but this one experience is something unique, something I'll tell my theater friends when I'm in a show. No, I've never seen a Broadway show in NYC, but very few people can say they've seen Hamlet performed at the castle about which it was written. That was a great night.

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