Elsinore: A BBC Radio 4 Drama

by Sebastian Baczkiewicz

How did Claudius become the man he is in Shakespeare's Hamlet? What were the real reasons behind the murder of his brother? How does he really feel about his nephew? These questions will be answered in this drama spiced with ghosts, pirates, magic and political skulduggery.

Set in an alternative Europe in the 1930s, Elsinore is a prequel to Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This compelling new drama imagines the turbulence of the Danish court, in a world where Denmark is a powerful, militarised country with a small Empire around the Baltic that it is fighting hard to maintain. There is more than a hint of totalitarianism in the air.

In this uneasy setting, Elsinore delves into the troubled, not to say murderous relationship between King Hamlet and his brother Claudius: one of the most interesting characters in the Shakespearean canon. Realism meets with moments of otherworldliness as the story unravels, taking in pirates and magic, rebellion and betrayal.

A dark, exciting drama that touches on the events and people in Shakespeare's play, and brings us to the moment where Hamlet begins.

From the extraordinary imagination of Sebastian Baczkiewicz, writer of the successful Pilgrim series.

Duration: 3 hours approx.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Audiobook, Fiction, Denmark

1 pages, Audio CD

First published January 1, 2018

Reviews

[Bettie · Rating 3 out of 5]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b09k1fjl

Description: Set in an alternative Europe in the 1930s, Elsinore imagines the turbulent world of the Danish Court in events that take place some years before the story told in Shakespeare's Hamlet. Directed by Marc Beeby & Sasha Yevtushenko

ELSINORE is a prequel to Shakespeare's Hamlet, exploring the relationships at the Danish court, particularly the troubled, not to say murderous relationship between King Hamlet and his brother Claudius. The plays are set in an alternative Europe in the early 1930s. Denmark is a powerful, militarised country with a small Empire around the Baltic which it is fighting hard to maintain. There is more than a hint of totalitarianism in the air. The realism of this is sometimes combined with moments of magical otherworldliness, not out of keeping with Shakespeare's original play.

The Party Prince, Claudius, meets a coughing minotaur

King Hamlet's brother, Claudius, is sent to Spain as Denmark's new ambassador. On the way, he is captured by the infamous pirate Captain True. Back in Elsinore, meanwhile, the King must deal with a possible rebellion.

Claudius returns to Elsinore where he must confront his brother about the failure to pay the ransom demanded by Captain True. He must also deal with a strange Danish farmer who wants to give King Hamlet a gift of very fine horses.

Claudius has been sent to the mysterious - and magical - Kingdom of Carpathia to negotiate for the Princess of Carpathia to become King Hamlet's wife. In the process he learns some uncomfortable truths about himself and his brother.

The traitor, Lord Anders, has been found in Sweden and Claudius is dispatched to bring him back to Denmark. But in doing so, Claudius discovers some devastating news about what his brother, King Hamlet, is planning.

[Anisha Inkspill · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sebastian Baczkiewicz writes a modern off-shoot audio drama of Shakespeare’s Hamlet. This audiobook is the first of the two seasons that shows how King Claudius, the treacherous villain in Hamlet became the man he did through a fascinating and gripping backstory as a younger Claudius, Polonius and Gertrude, along with his brother Hamlet who is king. Out of the two brothers, Claudius is the kinder, reasonable one. King Hamlet is a ruthless, callous, tyrannical man, who does not shy away from playing a hard-political game, not caring who he crosses, including his own brother, and what it costs, including lives. This King Hamlet is an angry man, the cause of his friction with Claudius becomes apparent in flashbacks as we also learn about their parents. King Hamlet, not one to let go of grudges and understand the power he has over others, takes the woman whom Claudius deeply loves – Gertrude.

The drama is relentless with its many twists, some that left me open-mouthed and gave some alternative explanations. So, when I read Shakespeare’s Hamlet a few weeks later it was not possible for me to look at Claudius in the same way, as I really sympathised with him for the rough journey his brother gave him.

This first season ends with a cliff-hanger where the story continues in season 2 (as far as I can tell not released on audiobook) but available on the BBC site, season 2 neatly ends where Shakespeare’s Hamlet starts – Perfect!!!

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

From BBC Radio 4:
Claudius, Prince of Denmark, has lived as an exile in Spain for the past sixteen years but an attempt on his life causes him to reassess his position. Meanwhile in Denmark, civil disobedience and political unrest are leading King Hamlet to take ever more authoritarian measures.

Claudius . . . John Light
King Hamlet . . . John Heffernan
Polonius . . . Clive Hayward
Gertrude . . . Lyndsey Marshal
Catalina . . . Laura Christy
Olsson . . . Rupert Holliday Evans
Kabanova . . . Jessica Turner
Schroeder . . . Neil McCaul

Directed by Marc Beeby and Sasha Yevtushenko

Set in an alternative Europe in the 1950s, Elsinore imagines the turbulent world of the Danish Court in events that take place some years before the story told in Shakespeare's Hamlet. It explores the relationships at the Danish court, particularly the troubled, not to say murderous relationship between King Hamlet and his brother Claudius. Series 2 picks up the action 16 years after the first series, in an alternative Europe in the early 1950s. Denmark is a powerful, militarised country with a small Empire around the Baltic which it is fighting hard to maintain. There is more than a hint of totalitarianism in the air.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000...

[sabisteb aka callisto · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich weiß nicht genau, was ich von diesem Prequel zu Shakespeare's Hamlet halten soll. Eigentlich wurden nur die Namen und Personenkonstellationen übernommen, mehr auch nicht.
Die Geschichte selber spielt in einem Dänemark der 1940er? Jahre, das von einem despotischen, misstrauischen König Hamlet regiert wird, der seinen Bruder Claudius überwacht und als Botschafter auf Schwachsinnsaufträge schickt, bei denen er jeweils gute Chancen hat, umzukommen. Claudius ist hier der gute, naive, jüngere Bruder. Die Beziehung zwischen Claudius und Gertrud bekommt einen Teeniromanzenhintergrund und man lernt auch Plolonius Frau kennen bis zu dem Zeitpunkt als Laertes geboren wird.
Letzendlich eine mittelmäßige Paralleluniversumsspionagegeschichte die nicht wirklich trägt.
Dennoch unterhaltsam gemacht mit super sprechern und man versucht immer wieder parallelen zum Shakespeare Stück zu finden. Es gibt ein paar bekannte Zitate, die eingestreut wurden, das ist aber auch schon alles.
Wer also eine ernsthafte Vorgeschichte zum berühmten Shakespeare Stück erwartet, der wird enttäuscht werden. Wer die Geschichte für sich alleine nimmt und einfach akzeptiert, das hier Namen und Personenkostellationen aus Hamlet verwendet werden, um eine komplett neue, andere Geschichte zu erzählen, der wird solide unterhalten werden.
3,5 Sterne

Das Hörspiel wird am Fri 4 Oct 2019 14:15 auf BBC4 wiederholt.

[KimmGr · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thought both the drama series were excellent. I love the way the author has re-imagined the both the relationship between King Hamlet and his brother Claudius, and the character of the king. The more-or-less 1930s setting in an imaginary Europe (reflecting the armed struggles in Scandinavia in Shakespeare's time) worked very well.