July 13, 2018 - Ok let’s get a few things out if the way first. Shakespeare never visited here.
This is Kronborg Castle located on the coast of Denmark in the town of Helsingør - which the anglicized pronunciation is ‘Elsinore’. The myth of “Amleth” which was the origin of the Hamlet story was written in the 13th Century , hundreds of years before this fort was built. William Kempe - a member of Shakespeare’s acting company MAY have visited but we can’t be sure. And Hamlet is a work of fiction.
But none of that matters ....
The town has declared this is Elsinore Castle from the play and thousands of tourists and Shakespeare geeks like me travel to what is easily the greatest set for the story ever built. In
1937, Laurence Olivier made it official. He traveled here with a little known actress to play Ophelia , Vivian Leigh-whom he later married , and performed Hamlet in the courtyard. Since then a parade of Shakespeare actor luminaries such as Christopher Plummer, Micheal Caine, Kenneth Branagh, Dereck Jacoby, John Gielgud , and Tim Mooney have all made the trip.
Walking through it was like strolling through the set of your favorite movie. I thought of the Hamlet I did a few years ago and the great actors Carey Shea, Devan Mathias, Ericka Barker, Benjamin Mathis, Kevin Caraher, Andrew Burnett, Tom Weingartner, John Mortell, Missy Rump, Matt Anderson, Scott Stockton, Melody Burnett, Linda Schornhorst , Chris Burton and several others that I got to share that experience.
Cheers guys! You all were here with me today.
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