"Words, words, words,” Hamlet replies when asked what he’s reading. But Shakespeare’s brooding soliloquist finds himself stripped of words and solely relying on movement in The Tragedy of Hamlet: Prince of Denmark, a new dance-theatre adaptation by director Robert Lepage and choreographer Guillaume Côté, who stars in the title role. Following its acclaimed world premiere in Toronto last spring and an engagement at Le Festivalul Internațional Shakespeare in Craiova, Romania, the production makes its U.S. premiere at Chicago’s Harris Theater for Music and Dance, with three performances, November 23–24.
Hamlet has been a milestone role for actors across the centuries, from David Garrick to Laurence Olivier, Kenneth Branagh to Paapa Essiedu—plus such formidable female artists as Sarah Siddons, Sarah Bernhardt, and Michelle Terry. Now it’s Côté’s turn. A principal dancer and choreographic associate of the National Ballet of Canada, who is retiring in June 2025 after 26 years with the company, Côté observes, “Hamlet is not the type of hero that I’m used to portraying in classical ballet, such as Romeo or Siegfried. He’s way more multi-layered. His judgment is very ego-driven.”
The production is a collaboration between the dance company he founded, Côté Danse, Lepage’s multidisciplinary company, Ex Machina, Dvoretsky Productions, and presenting partner Show One Productions. One of Canada’s leading theatre artists, Lepage’s international career has spanned plays, operas, and films, including work as a director for Cirque du Soleil and the Metropolitan Opera. Hamlet marks the second time Côté and Lepage have worked together, following the National Ballet of Canada’s production of Frame by Frame in 2018.
Shakespeare’s text explores a range of themes, from mental health and grief to palace intrigue. For Côté, Hamlet’s introspectiveness and inaction are especially resonant. “Coming to it in this stage in my life,” he shares, “I can identify with what someone like Hamlet is doing, which is ruminating on a problem that they are unwilling to act on, and because they’re not acting on it, they create more problems.” Côté and his colleagues also found that the medium of dance offers fresh perspectives on the play’s family dynamics, romantic relationships, and even Hamlet’s soliloquies. “It was very interesting to see how, actually, we had a lot of tools to tell a story that’s deprived of its words, but not deprive of its meaning, deprived of its passion, of the emotions and the dramaturgical twists and turns,” says Lepage.
John Gzowski, a musician who has worked across theatre, dance, and film, composed the score for the two-hour production. “It’s very classically based in the sense that it’s so respectful of the classical roots of the piece, but it kind of takes off into a more contemporary fashion,” remarks Lepage. “It’s minimal in the sense that he uses few instruments, but the instruments he does use are quite strong,” adds Côté, “from electric guitar to harpsichord to hurdy-gurdy, a traditional Elizabethan instrument.” The choreography also blends classical and contemporary styles to showcase the individual strengths of cast members. “It’s all my choreography, so it still has a background of classicism,” says Côté.
But he notes, “It’s not forcing someone into my form. It’s me working my form with the people I have at hand.” Lukas Malkowski, who portrays Laertes, has a background in street dance, so his movements blend this mode with classical steps to give the character a grounded feel. Greta Hodgkinson, a retired principal dancer of the National Ballet of Canada, plays Hamlet’s mother, Gertrude. Now in her 50s, she brings “a presence and a way of moving that is quite gestural,” relates Côté.
In his career as a director, Lepage has built a reputation for epic visuals and innovative uses of technology. When he staged Wagner’s Ring cycle at the Metropolitan Opera, the centerpiece of the set was a 90,000-pound apparatus of rotating aluminum beams enhanced by three-dimensional projections that adjusted to sound and movement in real time.
Although he takes a different approach for Hamlet, Lepage thinks audiences will recognize his visual style. “There’s absolutely no technology besides the good old traditional technology of theatre,” he says. “There’s no video work. For a dance piece, there are a lot of props, furniture, and drapes, but it’s not this big set like you’d have in classical dance shows. There’s not an element on stage that doesn’t have a secondary or tertiary use. We’re in a poetic environment and we use it to its maximum.” As the company prepares to bring the show to the U.S., Lepage is pleased that Chicago is their destination. “Chicago’s a great art town. It has a great dance scene, great orchestra, great opera. I’m very happy and very honored to get to perform at the Harris. It’s the perfect space and perfect venue for what we’re doing.”
