Vancouver Playhouse to March 21, 2026
Tickets from $40.75 at 604-801-6225 or www.dancehouse.ca
Posted March 19, 2026
Magnificent. If there are tickets left – buy one. And if Vancouver ever had a truly legitimate reason for a prolonged standing ovation, this is it. On opening night, the audience was immediately on its feet; the house lights came on and the dancers and audience shared a moment of real connection. Face to face, heart to heart.
Playwright/actor/director Robert Lepage (Ex Machina) and dancer/choreographer Guillaume Côté (Côté Danse)teamed up a few years ago to create Hamlet, Prince of Denmark and, thanks to DanceHouse, Vancouver audiences have the great pleasure of seeing this spectacular collaboration on the Vancouver Playhouse stage.
In the pre-show talk, speaker Steven Drover said that Shakespeare’s play was not merely a play, it was a “work” – a work that could be reimagined in an infinite number of ways and yet, some four hundred and twenty-five years after it was written, it remains completely relevant. Power. Intrigue. Betrayal. Still with us.
According to Lepage, “Dance generates breath, energy, and gestures that can reveal hidden meanings concealed by the lyricism of the text. Dance gives the characters bodies, muscles, flesh.” Except for surtitles that indicate the entrances of certain characters, this Hamlet is wordless. It is visceral, muscular, lyrical, athletic and dynamic. Côté, who dances the principal role, is classically trained but this production blends classical, contemporary, street dancing and, at times, something akin to break-dancing.
Shakespeare’s story begins with the celebration of the marriage of Gertrude, widow of the recently deceased king of Denmark, and Hamlet’s uncle Claudius. It is rowdy and the dancing is giddy, gleeful, almost childlike. What the celebrants do not yet know is that the king was murdered. From that point on, the production grows dark and darker.
Although the show is visually and aurally spectacular and can stand alone, it pays to re-acquaint yourself with the story if you need to. But even without knowing the story, Simon Rossiter’s fantastic, evocative lighting and John Gzowki’s percussive, blood-chilling score guide you through to the final body-strewn scene following Hamlet and Laertes’ heart-stopping duel.
As Hamlet, Côté is not the melancholy, indecisive Dane we generally see portrayed. Côté is a powerful dancer, strong and confident especially when paired with athletic Lukas Malkowski as Laertes, Ophelia’s brother. Ophelia, danced by Carleen Zouboules, is lovely, sad and wistful; the drowning scene must be seen to be believed. Some of Lepage’s celebrated stage magic is obvious here. While Natasha Poon Woo is indicated as Horatio, she figures in other roles, including the grave digger. Her’s is a puckish, sprightly imagining.
Dancers include Sonia Rodriguez (Gertrude), Robert Glumbek (Claudius), Michel Faigaux (Polonius), Connor Mitton (Rosencrantz) and Willem Sadler (Guildenstern). Designed and directed by Robert Lepage.
In this production, Shakespeare’s Hamlet is reborn. Lepage/Côté’s collaboration is unforgettable and a tremendous opportunity to experience the work of two theatre makers in full flower. Prepare to be enthralled, amazed, moved and impressed. A few tickets left.