Hamlet.Europe.Transfer

Hamlet: The Myth

Since 1937 they have appeared at a very particular place: Kronborg Castle at Denmark's Helsingör (Elsinore), where Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is set. "They" referring to the great impersonators of Hamlet, from Laurence Olivier and Gustaf Gründgens to Kenneth Branagh. Hamlet is the part many actors dream of, Hamlet is the drama of modern, post-medieval man.

Shakespeare never saw historical Kronborg, the historical Hamlet never lived there, and yet the castle on the Öresund is linked with this theatre myth like Yorick's skull in Hamlet's hand. One big misconception: that gesture does not belong to Hamlet's famous soliloquy "to be or not to be?."

International Research and Exhibition Project

Moderator Dr. Winrich Meiszies

"Hamlet - Transfer, Stage, Language, Politics", these were the topics dealt with at the international conference at Düsseldorf's theatre Museum. Theatre-, literature-, and media specialists had come together to take stock. In six papers and some additional presentations the European dimension of the Hamlet theme was clearly outlined. As chairman Winrich Meiszies stated, it was not the aim of the conference to answer all questions, but rather to define problems and set tasks for a European network of research leading to an exchange of results which will eventually be presented to the public.

This network will serve the common purpose "to prepare a European exhibition in a specifically European context". The Düsseldorf instigators of the project focus particularly on the idea of transfer - with theatre landscapes between London and Moscow profiting by mutual stimulation. The European factor of the whole consists in underlining common features as well as pointing out and explaining special differences.

Politics and Psychology

In her paper Ulla Strömberg (Kopenhagen Theatre Museum) concentrated on the geographical roots of the myth, Denmark's Kronborg Castle, where among others. The Düsseldorf born Gustaf Gründgens appeared in 1938 with an interpretation of Hamlet much contested by the German National Socialists. The political implications of this guest performance, two years before the invasion of Denmark by Hitler's troops found a mixed echo in the Danish press, even containing some broad hints at Danish collaborators.

As the only scientist among the speakers, clinical psychiatrist Professor Wolfgang Werner chose a different approach. He gave some clear psychological insight into the protagonist's mind and reactions, by that means furnishing a reason for the world-wide interest in this stage figure.

The theatre tradition of Eastern European countries received special emphasis by several contributions from Russia and Poland with speakers from the important theatre museums of St. Petersburg and Moscow, and from the Polish Theatre Institute. Great artistic achievements were called to mind and their impact on many other European theatres. In her talk Liudmilla Mochalova (St. Petersburg) drew attention to Stanilavski's view of Hamlet. He asked Edward Gordon Craig, the famous British stage reformer, to come to Russia and work for his production.

Speaker Liudmilla Mochalova, St. Petersburg

Even if the first performance on January 5, 1912 set off numerous controversial arguments in Russia, it must be rated as a great success which affected the stage history of the play throughout Europe.

In Russia the political potential of the play became obvious and caused repeated threats of censorship and prohibition. W.E. Meyerhold is an unfortunate case in point: he had worked on the play year after year, but he was executed before he had been able to put it on Russian stage.

Jerzy Grotowski's 1964 interpretation of Hamlet plainly hinting at anti-Semitic outrages in Poland after World War II, was forbidden after only a few performances.

Speaker Dr. Gabriele Pfeiffer, Wien

Carmelo Bene, the Italian multi-talent, shone in the theatre, the cinema, and also as a writer. From the 1960-ies on he repeatedly treated the Hamlet theme, which he transformed in an ironical, deconstructivist manner. Commenting on Bene's performances, Gabriele Pfeiffer (of Vienna University) threw light on this other extreme in the range of opposites exploring the theatre classic.

An early example of European "Hamlet transfer" can be seen in the fact that German or French translations of the play were underlying the first Polish version shown at the Polish National Theatre. In his talk on "the Polish Hamlet" Dr. Hans-Christian Trepte (of Leipzig University) explained Hamlet's significant role in the literature, the theatre, and the fine arts of a country struggling to keep up its political identity despite periods of oppression by its Western or Eastern neighbours. Poland's latest contribution, however, is a Hamlet musical, now running on Broadway. The piece will shortly be shown in a German adaptation directed by Harald Schmidt.

Speaker Dr. Christian Trepte, Leipzig

Speaker Prof. Tony Howard, Warwick University

Professor Tony Howard (of Warwick University) demonstrated that political as well as social upheavals were reflected in the appearance of "The Female Hamlet", a phenomenon which he illustrated by spots from European and American Films. Sarah Bernhardt and Asta Nielsen were the first women to play Hamlet for the cinema.

Next Steps: Meetings at Warsaw and Kopenhagen

The broad range of Hamlet topics and material bore witness with to the relevance of the subject. Conference participants are therefore resolved to further pursue their research and work for results to be shown in an exhibition. The vast amount of aspects in the German Hamlet tradition will be treated in a special German conference. The next international conference will be organized by the Polish Theatre Institute in Warsaw, next spring. After that the H.E.T. network (Hamlet. Europe.Transfer) participants will meet in Denmark.

Images of the participants of the conference