Best, Most, Longest
Best known, most performed and longest! Hamlet clocks in at 4042 lines and can take up to 5 hours to perform. Luckily we’ve trimmed ours down to 2 hours.
24/7
It has been estimated that a version of Hamlet is being performed somewhere, every single minute, of every single day.
High Seas Hamlet
The play’s first performance outside of England was on board a ship called The Dragon when a group of sailors enacted the play off the Cape of Good Hope.
And popular in Outer Space
Hamlet is one of at least two Shakespeare plays to be translated into Klingon (can you guess the other?…Much Ado About Nothing)
International Hamlet Day?
The first recorded performance of Hamlet was on July 26, 1602.
Way Against Type
Hamlet is a challenging, dream role for actors. In 1899, bucking all type casting, Sarah Bernhardt played the role despite being a woman…and age 54.
2B
According to Wikipedia, “To be, or not to be” is one of the most quoted phrase in the English language.
Hamlet Homage
Hamlet has inspired 26 ballets, 6 operas, dozens of musical works (from Tchaikovsky to Bob Dylan), even Disney’s The Lion King is an adaptation.
Heavyweight Hamlet
When you think of the character of Hamlet, what do think of? The role was originally played by Richard Burbage who, at the time, was 37 years old and weighed 235lbs. So where did the conventional idea of a slight, brooding young man come from?