lgiegerich's review against another edition
5.0
An absolute delight from beginning to end. Nothing groundbreaking in terms of criticism/interpretation, but some interesting ideas that made me pause, & just a wholeheartedly lovely description of what must have been the ultimate tour, & how wonderful theater can be.
deanna_etc's review against another edition
4.0
This was great. I enjoyed the analysis of the text as well as the analysis of the travels. Wish there were more stories from the adventure, of course.
oneday_atbookland's review against another edition
3.0
If you're not a fan of Hamlet, you'll obviously want to pass on this book. The author himself didn't go on the whole tour so there isn't as much about the tour as I would like. It was really neat to learn about the different interpretations they did along the tour (such as a female Hamlet) but it felt like there was too much of the author and his feelings than the general tour. Overall, a good read if you're a fan of this play.
kentcryptid's review against another edition
4.0
If you like Hamlet, you'll probably really like this book. I'm lukewarm on the play, but was hoping for a hands-on account of touring it through 200 countries in two years. Being occupied with running The Globe, Dominic Dromgoole was only present for around ten percent of the performances, and so his account is actually an exploration of Hamlet's themes, linked to the shows which took place in a number of venues. It's not the book's fault that this wasn't entirely what I was expecting.
Dromgoole writes in a light, anarchic tone that's sometimes laugh out loud funny. His account of a disastrous sejourn in Mexico City where, among other downsides, everyone had acute food poisoning was a highlight. After recounting that they were playing essentially on a roundabout in the middle of heavy traffic and using mics which turned out to be faulty, he adds:
Finally, however you feel about Hamlet, this book will definitely make you want to go to the theatre a lot; I had to pause after reading only three chapters to book a ticket for Nell Gwynn at The Globe.
Dromgoole writes in a light, anarchic tone that's sometimes laugh out loud funny. His account of a disastrous sejourn in Mexico City where, among other downsides, everyone had acute food poisoning was a highlight. After recounting that they were playing essentially on a roundabout in the middle of heavy traffic and using mics which turned out to be faulty, he adds:
'...the mics being secreted within the heavy cloth of the company's costumes, every time they embraced each other they sounded like a bunch of grizzy bears enjoying a brutal orgy. Motivated by some group instinct for self-destruction, they all started hugging each other at every opportunity, thereby punctuating the show with regular outbreaks of ursine group sex.'He's also delightful when talking about the history of Shakespeare performances in general: I loved the section on the frequency of high-profile women playing Hamlet in the 18th and 19th centuries. I also adored this description of touring companies in the past.
'They didn't arrive timidly in the hope that an audience might show, promising workshops and Q&As as an inducement; they kicked the door down, saying, 'We're here! Come and get it. We're going to shag some story into you.''I lost patience, however, with the many sections analysing Hamlet itself, and would have killed for more detail about the tour. He does say that a number of the actors on the tour are also writing books and I hope this comes to fruition; I'd love to read a more immediate account of the ups and downs of the challenges of putting on the play often in a different country every night. Also, Dromgoole's reminiscences about being rude to important people who didn't understand his vision occasionally verge on the self-satisfied.
Finally, however you feel about Hamlet, this book will definitely make you want to go to the theatre a lot; I had to pause after reading only three chapters to book a ticket for Nell Gwynn at The Globe.
fiendfull's review against another edition
4.0
Hamlet: Globe to Globe is a book about a huge project and one that those interested in Shakespearean theatre in the UK and beyond probably have heard about: Shakespeare’s Globe theatre took Hamlet on a tour to, as far as possible, every country in the world. In this book, Dominic Dromgoole describes their endeavours alongside thoughts on Hamlet and performing the play around the globe. Part memoir and part book about Hamlet and performance, Hamlet: Globe to Globe gives a sense of the excitement of the project whilst telling anecdotes about the reality of the undertaking.
Each chapter is focused around a theme and jumps between anecdotes about the tour and certain countries and Dromgoole’s discussions about Hamlet, which are fairly light and open, focused on character and performance. His vision of Hamlet as elusive and protean, as a play that should be less revered than actively used, fits with the book and project, suggesting that the play was right to be performed around the world in English. Whilst Dromgoole gives a rather romanticised image of Hamlet as a play at the beginning of the book, throughout the book he emphasises how it worked differently at different points in the tour, suggesting that he believes his romantic image of Hamlet as universal play full of human themes.
The specific anecdotes are the best part of the book, from playing in refugee camps and in hostile environments to the company doing speeches at the Globe in front of Obama. Political context is given for some of the performances and, though not perfect, shows an appreciation for the histories and contexts in which they ended up bringing their production. Descriptions of rotational casting practices and rehearsal methods adds theatrical interest, as does information about how they worked around some of the more difficult venue issues.
Hamlet: Globe to Globe is a subjective, endearing description of a touring production, one which accepts with self-deprecation that originally they naively believed they could change the world, but instead discovered that the world was a turbulent and difficult place, much like the world of the play.
Each chapter is focused around a theme and jumps between anecdotes about the tour and certain countries and Dromgoole’s discussions about Hamlet, which are fairly light and open, focused on character and performance. His vision of Hamlet as elusive and protean, as a play that should be less revered than actively used, fits with the book and project, suggesting that the play was right to be performed around the world in English. Whilst Dromgoole gives a rather romanticised image of Hamlet as a play at the beginning of the book, throughout the book he emphasises how it worked differently at different points in the tour, suggesting that he believes his romantic image of Hamlet as universal play full of human themes.
The specific anecdotes are the best part of the book, from playing in refugee camps and in hostile environments to the company doing speeches at the Globe in front of Obama. Political context is given for some of the performances and, though not perfect, shows an appreciation for the histories and contexts in which they ended up bringing their production. Descriptions of rotational casting practices and rehearsal methods adds theatrical interest, as does information about how they worked around some of the more difficult venue issues.
Hamlet: Globe to Globe is a subjective, endearing description of a touring production, one which accepts with self-deprecation that originally they naively believed they could change the world, but instead discovered that the world was a turbulent and difficult place, much like the world of the play.
bowienerd_82's review against another edition
3.0
There were moments when I absolutely adored this book- the intro was lovely, there were some sublime moments within, there were some excellent insights on the play itself- and there were times when I wanted to smack the author, because he let his ego get in the way, sometimes in truly obnoxious ways.
I really wish one of the actors had written the book instead, because the author (the artistic director) did not go to every show, and in fact missed huge chunks of the tour, thus losing some of his credibility as an authority on the show. While chapter headings show the exact order the shows, he jumps around in time almost incomprehensibly, often struggling a bit to make his experiences fit into matched thematic categories of Hamlet.
I still really enjoyed most of the book, but I really wanted to smack the author on several occasions, and tell him to stop letting his ego ruin it.
I really wish one of the actors had written the book instead, because the author (the artistic director) did not go to every show, and in fact missed huge chunks of the tour, thus losing some of his credibility as an authority on the show. While chapter headings show the exact order the shows, he jumps around in time almost incomprehensibly, often struggling a bit to make his experiences fit into matched thematic categories of Hamlet.
I still really enjoyed most of the book, but I really wanted to smack the author on several occasions, and tell him to stop letting his ego ruin it.
the_heatherlands's review against another edition
4.0
I enjoyed Dromgoole's witty remarks on travel and culture, but wish there had been more about receptions of the play itself. There are moments where he touches on it, but pseudo-interviews and/or conversations mentioned in the book would've been nice.
He makes a lot of phenomenal insights about Hamlet and its history, which was a huge point this book tried to draw attention to. I loved the point he made about one of the actors that played Hamlet in New York City, and how that actor played Hamlet more than 100 times in a row, more than any other actor. I'm sure there's so much one could take away from playing a character such as Hamlet that many times.
It interested me to hear about the acting troup and how fluidly they switched character roles. At the end of the book, Dromgoole memtions how several of them wanted to write a book on the experience, and I'll have to follow-up and see if any of them did. Hearing their insights into the travel, performance, and multi-cultural value of this theatrical endeavor would be so rewarding as a reader.
He makes a lot of phenomenal insights about Hamlet and its history, which was a huge point this book tried to draw attention to. I loved the point he made about one of the actors that played Hamlet in New York City, and how that actor played Hamlet more than 100 times in a row, more than any other actor. I'm sure there's so much one could take away from playing a character such as Hamlet that many times.
It interested me to hear about the acting troup and how fluidly they switched character roles. At the end of the book, Dromgoole memtions how several of them wanted to write a book on the experience, and I'll have to follow-up and see if any of them did. Hearing their insights into the travel, performance, and multi-cultural value of this theatrical endeavor would be so rewarding as a reader.
itsbecksmidwest's review against another edition
3.0
The book is at its best when discussing the exegesis of “Hamlet” itself, but wades into some lazy stereotyping when it comes to describing the countries the company visited.
thefourthvine's review
3.0
This seems to be a year of fundamentally mis-marketed books. This is not a book about the Globe to Globe Hamlet tour that visited nearly every country in the world over the course of two years. It’s a book about Hamlet and Dominic Dromgoole’s relationship to Hamlet, which happens to include some stories about the Globe to Globe tour. Really, it should be called The Prince and I: Hamlet, the Globe, and the Play, or something like that.
If they actually wanted a book about the tour, it might have helped to pick an author who went on the tour. Dromgoogle was one of the directions of the production, and also in charge of the Globe at the time, but he only visited 20 of the stops on the tour. His stories about those stops are so interesting that I yearned to hear from the people who visited each one.
This book has one of the stronger narrative voices I’ve encountered; it’s really hard to review it without reviewing the author, too, so I’m not going to try. The overwhelming impression I got of Dromgoole in this book is that he’s the sort of man who always has an interesting story to tell, an interesting thought to convey, and if you say to him, “Dominic, we’re ordering dinner. What toppings do you want on your pizza?” you get a three hour dicussion that inevitably ends, “This is great, Dominic, but we HAVE TO ORDER DINNER.” He’s somewhere beyond discursive. And that really shows in the book. (He’s also quite catty. I bet at least five of the stories he would tell in that three-hour dinner run up would be tales on specific people, and he’d be happy to name the names, too.)
Fortunately, Dromgoole mostly manages to stay on topic in the book, largely because he thinks Hamlet is maybe the most interesting topic in the world. And he does even manage to connect his meditations on the play back to the tour in most cases. (He does not, however, manage to do this in chronological order. And the list of tour stops that interleaves each chapter is irrelevant, which frustrated the heck out of me.)
All in all, this is an interesting book if you’re looking for one man’s thoughts on Hamlet (and Shakespeare, who Dromgoole seemst to regard as a close friend recently deceased). If you’re looking for a travelogue, or details of HOW they managed to get from country to country and do a play in each one, or what it was like to be on this trip, then — well, this is not the book for you. I did find it interesting, but it left me wanting a book that does what this one says it does on the cover. I will just have to hope that one of the actors or stage managers involved writes a book, too.
If they actually wanted a book about the tour, it might have helped to pick an author who went on the tour. Dromgoogle was one of the directions of the production, and also in charge of the Globe at the time, but he only visited 20 of the stops on the tour. His stories about those stops are so interesting that I yearned to hear from the people who visited each one.
This book has one of the stronger narrative voices I’ve encountered; it’s really hard to review it without reviewing the author, too, so I’m not going to try. The overwhelming impression I got of Dromgoole in this book is that he’s the sort of man who always has an interesting story to tell, an interesting thought to convey, and if you say to him, “Dominic, we’re ordering dinner. What toppings do you want on your pizza?” you get a three hour dicussion that inevitably ends, “This is great, Dominic, but we HAVE TO ORDER DINNER.” He’s somewhere beyond discursive. And that really shows in the book. (He’s also quite catty. I bet at least five of the stories he would tell in that three-hour dinner run up would be tales on specific people, and he’d be happy to name the names, too.)
Fortunately, Dromgoole mostly manages to stay on topic in the book, largely because he thinks Hamlet is maybe the most interesting topic in the world. And he does even manage to connect his meditations on the play back to the tour in most cases. (He does not, however, manage to do this in chronological order. And the list of tour stops that interleaves each chapter is irrelevant, which frustrated the heck out of me.)
All in all, this is an interesting book if you’re looking for one man’s thoughts on Hamlet (and Shakespeare, who Dromgoole seemst to regard as a close friend recently deceased). If you’re looking for a travelogue, or details of HOW they managed to get from country to country and do a play in each one, or what it was like to be on this trip, then — well, this is not the book for you. I did find it interesting, but it left me wanting a book that does what this one says it does on the cover. I will just have to hope that one of the actors or stage managers involved writes a book, too.
elliecs3's review
5.0
One of my favourite non fiction books!
https://booksthatbloom.wordpress.com/2017/06/04/hamlet-globe-to-globe-by-dominic-dromgoole-review/
https://booksthatbloom.wordpress.com/2017/06/04/hamlet-globe-to-globe-by-dominic-dromgoole-review/
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