Claudius

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In the Globe Theatre Company's production of Hamlet, Claudius was played by Tim Woodward.

About Tim Woodward

Tim has appeared in productions for the Royal National Theatre, the Cambridge Theatre Company, and the Citizens Theatre, Glasgow. Earlier in his career he played the role of Laertes in Hamlet. Recently he has played Anthony in Anthony and Cleopatra and Jacques in As You Like It, both for the English Shakespeare Company.

Click on the numbered links to follow Tim's journey as he creates and plays the character of Claudius in the Globe Theatre.

Tim Woodward - Character Notes 1

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

The first day of rehearsals is always nerve-racking, no matter how experienced you are. We read through The Antipodes, the second play we will be performing. I read extremely badly. That was horrifying. I didn't understand the play although I had read it once before.

The second day we 'workshopped'. We had a dance class, a singing class and a movement class. I was a bit surprised because I hadn't had a movement class in about twenty-five years, but the class freed me up a bit. I got more relaxed.

We then workshopped The Antipodes using old American burlesque material, which was very funny. The Antipodes is a farce comedy in some ways. We also saw Duck Soup, a Marx brothers film. We worked on The Antipodes for four days and on Friday we started working on Hamlet.

We discussed the ideas for Hamlet in the morning and the costumes in the afternoon. We saw the kind of world in which we are setting this production of Hamlet. We will be performing in period costume, and we saw some of the actual material used in the 16th century.

I've been in Hamlet twice before, playing Laertes. The first of these productions, for the Cambridge Theatre in 1974, was performed in traditional costume, but our costumes weren't as accurate as they are going to be for this production. I think we will start wearing some form of period costume early in rehearsals so we can inhabit the costumes and don't have the problem of becoming accustomed to them in production week.

Claudius is a clever politician. Something I've recently discovered is that I think he genuinely did love Gertrude before he killed his brother. I think they may have had an affair before the murder. He might not have just killed for lust for power. He may have killed for love for Gertrude-I had never considered that before.

Claudius does try to come to terms with what he's done in the play in the 'prayer' scene (Act III, Scene 3). He can't pray but there is almost a confession of sorrow for what he's done. I find there are shades of humanity in even the worst villain. There is some worth in any character you play. I don't think that Claudius is as evil as some other characters in Shakespeare-Iago, for example.

We are currently reading through the scenes and discussing the meaning of every line. It's fascinating. I continue to make new discoveries.

We are discussing Claudius's relationship with Polonius. We are discussing how deeply Polonius understands what's happening with Claudius and how implicated Polonius may be.

By biggest challenge right now is learning the words. I learn by reading the lines again and again and again. I am sometimes tripped up by the grammatical differences in Shakespeare's verse compared with the way we speak today. I have to work on that. A syllable here or a syllable there can ruin the metre in the verse. I'm not an expert. We have a good director (Giles Block) who understands verse and is teaching us how to speak it well.

I will also have to discover how best to speak on the Globe stage. I need to speak loudly enough to be heard in an outdoor space while at the same time vary pitch and tone so that I am not always speaking at one level.

Activities for Students

You might like to think about some of the questions and issues that have been occupying Tim during the first weeks of rehearsal. Because the company has been reading the play during these first weeks, the activities this time are mostly theoretical in nature.

Discuss the relationship between Claudius and Gertrude. Do you think they had an affair before her husband's death? How does any decision taken about this subject effect Tim's portrayal of Claudius?
Tim believes that Claudius is 'a clever politician ' Do you agree? Look for evidence in the text to back up your answer.
Tim is unsure of the depth of relationship between Claudius and Polonius. How much has Claudius confided in Polonius? You may like to improvise a scene between Claudius and Polonius to examine their relationship. Send your ideas and discoveries to Tim.

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Tim Woodward - Character Notes 2

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

This week the company read through the play and discussed relationships between characters in order to find out what we knew and what we didn't know! We explored the different ideas we all have about the play. These discussions help us to set down the intentions of each character. This is extremely helpful for me, as Claudius has a very difficult first scene. He has many different intentions - a strong desire to move the courtiers to be on his side, to show that he is a strong man and to make Hamlet feel more comfortable. I think that I need to learn the lines in a basic form before we begin to explore them.

In the first scene I don't think that Claudius is particularly concerned about Hamlet. As each scene unfolds, he becomes more and more worried until he sets out to destroy Hamlet. I feel it's a slow progression. At first Hamlet is an inconvenience rather than a real threat.

I have been talking to Jenny (Tiramani, designer) about my costume. I think that costume is vitally important, even in rehearsal. Your clothes control the way you move. Shoes are especially important.

In these very early weeks of rehearsal, the process you go through often seems to complicate things as you realise that there is more in the play than you thought there was. But things become more enlightened when you begin to stand up and rehearse the play. It's a very challenging moment when you first stand up and you find you don't know what you're doing with your limbs and you can't even remember any of the lines that you thought you knew!

Activities for Students

Claudius and Hamlet

Tim believes that at the beginning of the play Claudius sees Hamlet as an inconvenience rather than a threat. Do you agree with this statement? Chart Claudius' relationship with Hamlet as it evolves and changes throughout the play. Mark each key point, explaining why it is significant. Send your ideas to Tim - this will help him chart Claudius' journey throughout the play.
Discussion Vs Action

The company has spent a lot of time talking through each scene, discussing key points. Now the company is putting each scene 'on its feet' i.e. acting out the scene, exploring where and how the characters move and how they interact with one another. Look at Act 1 Scene 2 - Claudius' first scene. Discuss the beginning of the scene from Claudius' entrance to exit. After you have discussed these lines try to put them "on their feet". What do you find out from a) your discussion of the lines and b) from your experiments acting the scene? Tim feels this is a very difficult first scene, how would you advise him to play it?

Where possible try to find evidence in the text to 'back up' your ideas.

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Tim Woodward - Character Notes 3

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

This week we’ve been reading through the whole play, getting a sense of pace and time. But we’ve found that it’s still too long, so we’ve had to make some cuts. We’ve put all the scenes onto the floor now, which is rewarding. I feel that Claudius is beginning to have more substance now that we’re acting it out, although working on the physical interpretation of the role, and learning lines at the same time can be a bit confusing.

I have been thinking a lot about Claudius’ main preoccupation, which, of course is not to get caught by anybody. I think that he begins the play feeling very secure. The whole court is on his side, they all agree with the marriage. I think that Claudius is happy in his relationship with Gertrude. He has no idea that Hamlet knows anything. As he discovers that Hamlet does know about the murder, he becomes very suspicious of everyone. He can’t deal with Hamlet too harshly, as everyone loves him. If he puts him on trial, it’s all going to come out. So, he gradually becomes determined to deal with Hamlet by sending him to England. The plot to kill him doesn’t come until later, probably after the play scene. Once he has that idea, though, he is going to make sure that it’s carried out very quickly. At this point he has no other problems with anyone else. No one else knows anything about it.

There are several things now for me to think about. I don’t want to make Claudius too arch, not to fiendishly villainous. I think that he is much more like a politician. I also need to try and get the verse, the voice and the movement all working together, so that they all come naturally to me at once and I no longer have to think about them. I also have to learn the rest of the lines. I tend do that by using a piece of paper to cover up the lines and then go through them like that again and again. The best time for me is late at night.

I feel like things are really beginning to take shape now, especially since we’ve been through all the scenes.

Activities for Students

In the second paragraph, Tim makes many assertions about Claudius’ situation. Do you agree with Tim? Discuss each point that Tim raises.

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Tim Woodward - Character Notes 4

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

Today was the first day that we worked on stage. I liked it. It was quite liberating to find out that the space wasn’t actually too daunting or frightening. It was also useful to find out that you could be heard.

We were also able to get an idea of moving around the space. It was quite helpful in a way to have the tours coming in and out. This is obviously quite unusual. I don’t suppose that anyone who has not worked at the Globe before has experienced anything like that. It was definitely a constructive experience.

I actually found the space very cold today. I mean the weather, not the actual space! I know today will help when we move back into the rehearsal space. We will all feel a lot freer.

We have mock up pillars in the rehearsal room. We are getting more and more used to working with the pillars, and that’s why it was so important to rehearse on the stage. We are now able to either work around the pillars or use them, as they are extremely useful for fight scenes or for hiding from other parties.

This week has been quite busy, as we have been away to an Elizabethan Manor house in Suffolk. This gave us a sense of what it would be like to be in a castle which is something we can bring back to the stage as we have limited set and props. I enjoyed this experience.

We were also able to work on some improvisations of scenes that do not appear in the text. Starting from the beginning, we improvised the killing of old Hamlet, the election of Claudius, the wedding of Claudius and Gertrude. We also improvised a scene where old Hamlet’s body is found, and I had to pretend I had gone to Copenhagen for the day, and act very upset and weepy when finding out the news, to convince the other characters that I was upset about my brothers death.

Such improvisations have definitely been useful, as they filter through into rehearsals. It stops you over emphasising things as you reach a state of knowing that you are secure with the events that have just happened. It allows you to know what you have just been thinking. At the beginning of the play, for example in Claudius’ speech, one can play the character very worried or apologetic. However, after our improvisations, I realised the speech is very genuine. It is also helpful that all the other characters at the court had been present at the improvisations, so, they all have the same ideas, thoughts and images as you do.

I’m not off the book yet with my lines, I’ve got the last three scenes to learn. I feel that I am in the middle of the rehearsal progress at the moment. People are always at different stages. Some people like to learn lines very quickly. However, I like to learn them as we rehearse.

When it comes to the rehearsal process, we are not going over everything every day. We do one or two scenes a day, which I usually prepare for the night or day before.

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Tim Woodward - Character Notes 5

These comments are the actor's thoughts or ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal process-they are simply his/her own interpretations and frequently change as the rehearsal process progresses.

At the moment we are running acts. I find this to be a very good way of doing things, as the scenes within the acts run into each other smoothly.

I have been thinking about Claudius’ reaction to Gertrude drinking the poison. Some people play Claudius looking on unfeelingly. I think that this is wrong. It is a genuine mistake. I think that they do love each other. He tries to stop her, but doesn’t get to her in time. There is nothing left for him after that, and he doesn’t try to defend himself, he’s just too broken. I think that although he is very self-centred, he does need her and he genuinely loves her.

I have been having difficulty in the middle of the play where Claudius’ guilt begins to get to him. I’m still working on that. I need to work out how much guilt there is. How long the attacks of guilt last. What effect these attacks have on him and his relationship - do they drive him to drink? I’m not sure whether having him drunk all the time will work, but its an idea.

I have also been thinking about how skilful Claudius remains with Laertes. I think that this is his sense of self-survival. Laertes wants to kill Claudius because he blames him for his father’s death. Claudius skilfully manages to get Leartes on his side, willing him to help in the plot to kill Hamlet. This all happens very quickly. He doesn’t see that it could go as wrong as it does.

I feel as though we are working very constructively at the moment.

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Tim Woodward - Character Notes 6

These comments are the actor's thoughts and ideas about the part as s/he goes through the rehearsal and performance process - they are simply his/ her own interpretations and frequently change as the process progresses.

Thank you for all the opening night cards that you sent me.

As I have been performing Hamlet I have found that Claudius' reaction to the dumb show is quite marked. You can't overplay this reaction though, because if you do you give too much away to the court, who are there watching the mime. Claudius realises what is happening when the king in the mime is poisoned, but he has to quickly pull himself together in order not to arouse suspicion. It is during the dumb show that Claudius begins to suspect that Hamlet may know something. Both Gertrude and Claudius react to the lines in the show about second marriages. I think that Hamlet had probably added these lines to the script. The interesting issue of the dumb show is to ask why Claudius doesn't stop it. I think that Claudius thinks that if he did stop the show he might arouse suspicion, although he did have good reason to stop the performance, as the remarks about remarriage are clearly offensive to the King and Queen. When the king in the play within the play dies I think that Claudius realises that the whole thing is a set up. He realises that he has to get rid of Hamlet. He looks for redemption in the prayer scene, but when that fails I think that Claudius begins to lose control. He probably starts to drink too much and to question whether or not the Queen knows about the murder. After the closet scene, Claudius asks Gertrude what Hamlet has said to her. Gertrude lies and says that when Hamlet spoke to her he was clearly mad and that was not aware of what he was saying. I think that Claudius believes Gertrude's lie.

I am finding that working with the audience at The Globe is interesting but also challenging. Understandably people come to The Globe with preconceptions about Claudius. For many people he is the simply the 'bad guy'. Sometimes the audience boo and hiss when I come onto the stage and clap when I die. Sometimes I wonder if they are seeing Claudius as a pantomime villain. This is not how I want people to see Claudius. Claudius is liked by his court, he is an effective leader and politician. He has successfully prevented an invasion. He was elected to be King. It is important for me to be able to view his murderous act within this context. I think that voicing their opposition to Claudius gives the audience a way of becoming involved in the play.

Activity

Do you agree with Tim's suggestion that Claudius is basically a reasonable man? Use textual evidence to support your argument.

We would like to say thank you to Wydean School who's questions provided the stimulus for this bulletin.

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