To be or not to be a pushy parent. That is the question, or one of them at least, that faces anyone who embarks on the epic project of having children – and, when it comes to Shakespeare, I am nothing if not pushy.
My son Nicholas, who is ten, had iambic pentameters thrust upon him from birth. I recall crooning: ‘O mistress mine, where are you roaming?’ from Twelfth Night over his cot. It helped to get him off to sleep.
To my delight, Nicholas is a fan of Macbeth (the graphic novel version). And when I proposed a visit to Kronborg Castle, the basis for Elsinore Castle, in Hamlet – in tribute to the 75th anniversary of Laurence Olivier winning the best picture Oscar for his film adaptation of the play – he was keen.
Centre stage: Thomas W. Hodgkinson visits Kronborg Castle, the world-famous setting for Shakespeare’s Hamlet
The castle is located in Helsingor, Denmark, and has ‘pointy turrets and cannons galore’
The castle, in Helsingor, on the north-east corner of Denmark 45 minutes from Copenhagen, is as castle-like as you could wish. It has limestone walls, pointy turrets and cannons galore.
Guide Louise tells us that the Bard never visited the castle, but he knew actors who did. They went there to perform, like the actors who turn up in the play and carry out the Murder of Gonzago at Hamlet’s request, with the aim of smoking out his uncle Claudius, who has murdered Hamlet’s dad, married his mum and stolen his crown.
Ample reason for revenge, you might think. But, instead, Hamlet mooches about delivering soliloquies on the meaning of life and death. The iconic image is of the prince staring at a skull as he broods on his own mortality. Which is why Nicholas and I have brought a lifesize replica of a skull as a prop.
Helsingor is a ‘fine example of a Danish medieval town, with cobbled streets, a beautiful Carmelite Priory, and a great Maritime Museum’, writes Thomas
We whip it out and strike poses on the battlements, where the ghost appears in the opening scene. We explore the ornate chapel, where Hamlet almost kills his uncle. Ditto the great hall, where drums rolled and trumpets blasted whenever King Frederick II made a speech during drinking binges.
For those less devoted to the Bard, Helsingor offers more. It’s a fine example of a Danish medieval town, with cobbled streets, a beautiful Carmelite Priory, and a great Maritime Museum.
There is a 200-year-old tradition of performing Shakespeare in the grounds of the castle. If you want to see it, come in early August and see Hamlet in the most atmospheric situation imaginable.
Kronborg Castle is just 45 minutes from Copenhagen, Denmark’s cool capital
Thomas bases himself at Hotel Alexandra in Copenhagen, near to the Tivoli Gardens (pictured)
We reach the castle as part of the Grand Day Trip laid on by Hamlet Tours. This takes in another castle, a Viking ship museum and the cathedral at Roskilde, which houses the body of King Harald Bluetooth (the technology was named after the dentally challenged Viking).
Afterwards, Nicholas and I collapse in the stylish comfort of the Hotel Alexandra in Copenhagen. One benefit is how close it is to Tivoli Gardens.
This is his reward for the Shakespeare overdose: hours of drop towers, rollercoasters and video arcades. We develop a technique for dealing with terrifying rides: we close our eyes and shout lines from Hamlet.
No fun for our neighbours, of course. But, remember, it’s the anniversary of that Oscar. I’m sure Olivier would have been delighted.
