THE BARD VISITS DOHA: Globe brings Hamlet to Doha

Reminiscent of the times when a group of travelling players bring Shakespeare’s masterpieces to people far and wide the play uniquely stands out as the staging is simple so is the telling of the story.

“It took us six weeks of rehearsals and at the heart of it is learning to tell the story as truthfully and simply as possible so that the audience leave the theatre with their own interpretation.”

Hamlet is arguably the most popular among Shakespeare’s tragedies whose story is still very much relevant up to this day.

“At the core of Hamlet is a very simple family story. It is essentially about a family and family relationships - relationship between a father and his son between an uncle and his nephew a mother and his son. At its core are very relatable human things like family and love.” Wherever it is played people are able to connect to the main character who has universal appeal.

“Everyone has a little bit of Hamlet in him that is why we can recognise the character. There is this idea that Hamlet may be an incredibly philosophical and intellectual man. He is very smart and witty but also just a young man trying to make sense of the world around him as he finds himself in very extreme circumstances.

“But he is at his core like all of us. He asks questions what it means to be a human being what it means to be alive what it means to have a family what it means to fall in love – questions we ask at different points in our lives.”

Taking Hamlet to all corners of the world Hayat believes is very important not only for entertainment but as a means to spark creative process.

“Who knows who will be in the audience and what they may take from the story? There may be some budding writers there who may write very unique Qatari stories. Encouraging people to write their stories is part of it.

“The story of Hamlet goes way back beyond Shakespeare writing it himself. There is something very human and very special sharing a story. That’s how we grow up. That’s how cultures develop and the more we can do that the better. The more you can share that with people who may never get the chance to see a Shakespeare play or may never have seen any theatre the better.”

On a personal note Hayat feels privileged to portray one of Shakespeare’s popular characters on stage.

“It’s an incredibly beautifully crafted human story with some of the most beautiful language ever written in any play throughout history and honestly it is always a real pleasure to be able to leave the stage having had the chance to say ‘What a piece of work is a man” or “To be or not to be” – these are things that mean a lot to people and it’s always a very humbling experience be in a privileged position to be able to say those words.”

The applause echoes long after the curtain was drawn revealing the audience’s hunger for Shakespeare’s works. And it seems their wait won’t be long as the British Council in Doha has lined up a whole year of events and activities for the Shakespeare Lives 2016.

The play was just a prelude to the many the upcoming events lined up including a concert by the Qatar Philharmonic Orchestra featuring music from Shakespearean plays and films screening of the film Much Ado About Nothing at Katara a visit of a famous composer and educational programmes.

The Peninsula