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The true story about the first Hamlet produced by Driftwood

Long-time Driftwood supporters may recall that although 2015 marks the first time Driftwood is producing Shakespeare’s most celebrated play as part of the Bard’s Bus Tour, it isn’t the first time we’ve delved into the world of Denmark.

Back in 2002, before the days of our annual Trafalgar 24 festival, I was fortunate enough to get a tour of the beautiful Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, and immediately began planning an event to take place in and around the 19th century castle standing on its grounds.

That project became our first fundraising event at the castle—Trafalgar Hamlet, featuring (now award-winning director of Stratford, Soulpepper, Tarragon and theatres across Canada) Alan Dilworth in the pivotal title role.

It was unique not only for using the castle and grounds to create a site-specific theatre experience, but because the audience was also divided into five groups, each following a different set of characters. The entire play was then presented simultaneously. Audience members were only privy to the scenes featuring their characters. They traveled in, around and outside of the castle on what I recall were two suitably cool and wintry nights in March of 2003.

Guests were invited to dine on a fine meal during intermission, and the dining hall became the setting for the famous ‘mousetrap’ scene of Act 3, Scene 3—where a troupe of players perform the play which convinces Hamlet of Claudius’ role in his father’s murder.

Further adding to the drama of Trafalgar Hamlet was a massive power-outage affecting half of the town of Whitby, where the castle is located, on the evening of our first performance. From the time audience began arriving until about 30 minutes after the performance was set to begin, the castle interiors were pitch black. Safety regulations forbade us from conducting the event in the dark, and so audience members were confined to dining lounge by candlelight at a pre-show wine reception until the power came back on.

I’ll never forget it—I was on my way to the dining hall to announce that we’d be cancelling the evening’s performance when the power suddenly came back on. The entire cast breathed a sigh of relief and we quickly got things underway.

The ghost appeared down by the front gate, Hamlet delivered his famous soliloquy on the main hall staircase, Claudius knelt to pray in the chapel, and Ophelia drowned in the indoor swimming pool.

I have always loved this incredible play and look forward to the challenges of directing it for the outdoor summer stage, but I will never forget that first Driftwood Hamlet experience.

– Jeremy.

…yet there is method in’t.

Assembling a 26-Stop Ontario Tour with Driftwood’s Artistic Director, D. Jeremy Smith

With the temperatures finally above zero on a regular basis, it feels like summer might actually be around the corner. And for Driftwood, that means the Bard’s Bus Tour is coming up fast. Luckily for us, planning for this season’s tour began almost a year ago. This summer, Driftwood will visit 26 communities in Ontario (we’ll officially announce the full season and company on Shakespeare’s birthday, April 23).

Company Members of Driftwood’s 20th season, including author Dr. Toby Malone (2nd from right).

Structuring a six week, 26 venue tour across a great swath of South Ontario might seem like a tall order, but we’ve had a lot of practice. In fact, Driftwood began with only four locations in the Durham Region (where I grew up) and performed only eight shows over two weeks. There was no bus back then – we borrowed a neighbour’s trailer to transport the big stuff and threw the rest in the back of a few cars.

Expansion happened gradually over time, growing to include more of East Ontario and the GTA before heading to points further West. First it was a few dates in Peterborough and Cobourg, then Toronto (in four different locations before we eventually settled in the East end’s Todmorden Mills and Withrow Park). Along the way we’ve performed in parking lots, on farms, at private residences, and even under a beer tent. Driftwood now tours to points between London, Westport and Bobcaygeon. And yes, there are plans to expand even further. But always one step at a time.

In 2015, we’re planning for a great mix of die-hard Driftwood locations with a few new and renewed sites and communities – places we’ve never been or just haven’t been in a while – to share our unpredictable, unsettling and downright dangerous adaptation of Shakespeare’s greatest play, Hamlet.

The Bard’s Bus, circa 2011

None of this tremendous growth would have been possible without our Touring Partners – dedicated and passionate organizations and individuals across the province who work with Driftwood to provide venues, resources and marketing support.

We currently have 20 Touring Partners across the province, ranging in size from voluntary organizations like the Friends of the Library in Marmora, to municipal bodies such as the City of Pickering (who are hosting Driftwood this year as part of the Durham Festival, celebrating the diversity of that region in tandem with the PanAm and Para PanAm games). Being a Touring Partner is a tall order, and each of our 20 partners is a unique and vital part of our success.

When I founded Driftwood 21 years ago, it was to share my passion for classic theatre with the community that helped raise me. I never expected that it would grow to encompass an annual summer adventure across this great province. This does have its benefits however – I’m an avid motorcyclist and look forward to the summer season not only for Driftwood, but also because it’s riding season.

Jeremy and the Bolt.

So this year, as with most summers since I first started riding in 2004, I’ll make sure all of our 15 company members are comfortably loaded up on the Bard’s Bus and our other four-wheeled support vehicles before packing my bike, gearing up and getting onto the open road for another kind of adventure.

Driftwood provides me with an opportunity to get out there on my 2014 Yamaha Bolt and explore some of Ontario’s great roads while simultaneously bringing the magic of live theatre home to so many wonderful communities.

As far as I can tell, it’s a win, win.

– Jeremy.

Sign up to Driftwood’s e-newsletter to receive the full tour announcement hot off the presses on April 23.