DanceHouse Will Host BC Premiere of HAMLET, PRINCE OF DENMARK
Ex Machina & Côté Danse to offer a new vision of Shakespeare's HAMLET in BC premiere.
DanceHouse, alongside community partners Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival and Théâtre la Seizième, present the BC premiere of Ex Machina & Côté Danse's thrilling reinterpretation of William Shakespeare's timeless tragedy, Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, on stage March 18-21, 2026 at the Vancouver Playhouse (an additional performance just added due to popular demand). Created by two Canadian icons: Choreographer Guillaume Côté, who will reprise the role of Hamlet in Vancouver, and Director Robert Lepage, this full-length production explores the play's enduring themes of power, betrayal, and inner turmoil through movement, lighting, and minimal set design alone, offering a resonant and wordless reflection on struggles that remain deeply relevant today.
“When I first experienced Hamlet, Prince of Denmark in Montreal in February 2025, I was genuinely jubilant—this was a work that immediately felt essential to share. The collaboration between Robert Lepage and Guillaume Côté brings together two extraordinary artistic voices: Lepage's theatrical imagination and Côté's choreographic and performative brilliance,” says Jim Smith, Artistic and Executive Director of DanceHouse. “Lepage's work has not been seen in Vancouver for some time, and it feels especially meaningful to welcome him back through a creation that so powerfully reconsiders Shakespeare through movement, invention, and contemporary form.”
Accompanied by an evocative original score by John Gzowski, the all-star cast brings Shakespeare's characters to life: Hamlet and Ophelia, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, Horatio and Laertes, Gertrude, Claudius, and Polonius. The innovative choreography blends classical, contemporary, and street-dance influences, resulting in “gripping dance sequences [...] that breathe new life into the tale, easily replacing those ever-so-famous words with gestures. Ophelia's suicide, Hamlet's soliloquy, the final duel — together, Côté and Lepage make those canonical moments feel new” (Intermission Magazine).
Pools of golden light from designer Simon Rossiter, blood-red velvet drapery and occasional surtitles functioning as a Greek chorus create a striking visual landscape, offering audiences a chance to experience the familiar tragedy in a bold new form. With its fusion of innovative choreography and theatrical artistry, this groundbreaking production invites Shakespeare and dance enthusiasts, and newcomers alike to immerse themselves in the shadowy realm of Hamlet.
The performance contains strobe lights.
There will be a pre-show chat at 7:15pm each night in the Upper Lobby. English-language pre-show chats will be hosted by Bard on the Beach Shakespeare Festival's Artistic Director, Christopher Gaze, on March 18, and by Mary Hartman, Director of Education, on March 20 and 21. Thursday evening's pre-show chat will be in French and will be hosted by bilingual actress France Perras, who often works with Théâtre la Seizième, the only professional French theatre company in BC. There will also be a post-show social following Friday's performance in the Salon.
Following the Vancouver performance, the show will continue its tour with performances in Sherbrooke, Québec, and Montréal.
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