A CULTURAL coup will deliver to Geelong the only Australian performance of a two-year world tour celebrating the 450th anniversary of William Shakespeare’s birth.
London-based Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre will stage three performances of its travelling Hamlet production at Costa Hall in May, promising the city an arts tourism windfall.
Geelong Performing Arts Centre (GPAC) secured the show as a highlight of the centre’s 2015 season.
General manager Jill Smith said the internationally renowned production “highlighted GPAC’s position as a leading regional venue attracting major companies from Australia and overseas”.
“The Globe season will bring significant benefits for the Geelong region (because) we expect a large number of visitors for the event,” she said.
Globe’s unprecedented theatrical adventure is touring Hamlet to every country in the world, playing everywhere from village squares to national theatres, beaches and palaces.
Victorian Arts Minister Heidi Victoria said the State Government was pleased to support GPAC in staging the ambitious Globe project.
“That Geelong is on the itinerary of The Globe Theatre’s epic tour to bring Hamlet to 200 countries across seven continents is testament to the drive and commitment of the local community,” Ms Victoria said.
“It is a great example of how public and private investment can work together to bring such an inspiring international production to Geelong.
Mayor Darryn Lyons was “thrilled” about the show’s tourism potential.
“Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is a massive tourist attraction in London and the production company is widely known as one of the greatest interpreters of Shakespeare of all time,” he said.
Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre is regarded as one of the great interpreters of Shakespeare.
A GPAC spokesperson said the company’s production of Hamlet was “a fresh, fast-paced version of this classic tragedy”.
“Played on a bare wooden stage, the cast of 12 actors will perform over two dozen roles emphasising the play’s humour and with a focus on language and storytelling.
“The Globe introduces Shakespeare to those who might never get to the Globe, those who might never in fact have seen one of his plays and wins over those who are not necessarily great fans of the bard.
“The production moves like the wind, fully capturing the inevitability of the indecisive Prince Hamlet’s dreadfully delayed revenge.”
Tickets will go on sale Wednesday after GPAC’s 2015 Deakin University Theatre Season launch.
