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THE REAL CASTLE ELSINORE

Inside Hamlet is played at a real Renaissance castle – the actual castle Elsinore from Shakespeare's original play.  
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Kronborg is known to many as "Elsinore," the castle from William Shakespeare's most famous tragedy. "Elsinore" is actually the anglicized name of the surrounding town of Helsingør. The magnificent castle was internationally known in Shakespeare’s time, rather like the Guggenheim museum or Sydney Opera House are today. It rests on the medieval fortifications that would have been Hamlet’s castle, a fact that Shakespeare, who always had an ear for marketing, probably exploited in choosing the setting for his story.

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Hamlet was performed in the castle for the first time in 1816 to mark the 200th anniversary of the death of William Shakespeare, with a cast consisting of soldiers from the castle garrison.

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The play has since been performed several times in the courtyard and at various locations on the fortifications. Performers to portray Hamlet at the castle include Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Christopher Plummer, Derek Jacobi, and in 2009, Jude Law. The 2015 runs of Inside Hamlet were the first time in a century that the play was performed inside the castle.

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Inside Hamlet offers you the chance to live the life of a member of the court of King Claudius in the actual castle where the play is set.

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