Performance History of Hamlet

Here's a list of some of the notable productions of Hamlet on stage or on film in the last 100 years. The RSC (Royal Shakespeare Company) contains clips, images and details of many of its most successful productions.

1925 Play

Directed by H.K. Ayliff.
This production used contemporary 1920s costume with plus fours (bagger trousers that fall below the knee), flapper dresses and bobbed hair.
Polonius was not played as a foolish old man but instead as a sophisticated and cunning politician.
Most controversially, Ophelia’s madness was presented as the uncontrolled release of pent-up sexual frustrations.

1948 Film

Directed by & starring Laurence Olivier.
This film is notable for its Freudian representation of the play e.g. by having Hamlet kiss his mother on the lips several times.
The cinematography is also striking at times, with the camera ‘zooming in’ to give the illusion of entering Hamlet’s head at the beginning of a soliloquy.

1980 Play

Directed by Richard Eyre.
This production does not have a Ghost appear on stage.
Instead, the Ghost’s lines are spoken by Hamlet (played by Jonathan Price) who performs them as if possessed by a poltergeist.
The opening scene, in which the watchmen and Horatio discuss and then see the Ghost, was cut.

1988 Play/1990 Film

1988 Play.
- Directed by Derek Jacobi.
- The production ended on a shocking climax. On the final line, “Go bid the soldiers shoot”, Fortinbras’ guard shoots dead Horatio and the other surviving members of the Danish court.
1990 Film.
- Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
- This production is notable for Mel Gibson’s powerful performance as a dynamic man of action.

1997 Play

Directed by Matthew Warchus.
- In this production, Ophelia is seen to be taking pills throughout the performance, a sign that she is perhaps on edge.
- During the ‘mad scene’ (Act 4 Scene 5), instead of handing the King and Queen flowers, she instead spills her pills.

2001 Play

Directed by Stephen Pimlott.
This was considered a disturbing production of Hamlet. The use of CCTV cameras which moved with the action suggested Denmark under Claudius was a repressive police state (or, in Hamlet’s words, a “prison”). Hamlet’s behaviour towards Ophelia during the nunnery scene was also highly controversial, with Sam West’s Hamlet pushing Ophelia and at one point appearing to spit in her face.

1Introduction

1.1Introduction & Background to Hamlet

1.1.1Introduction to Hamlet

1.1.2The Literary Tradition of the Hamlet Story

1.1.3Introduction to the Settings in Hamlet

1.1.4Introduction to Social Issues Raised

2Plot Summary

2.1Act 1: Key Events & Ideas

2.1.1Act 1, Scene 1

2.1.2Act 1, Scene 2

2.1.3Act 1, Scene 3

2.1.4Act 1, Scenes 4-5

2.2Act 2: Key Events & Ideas

2.2.1Act 2, Scene 1

2.2.2Act 2, Scene 2

2.3Act 3: Key Events & Ideas

2.3.1Act 3, Scene 1: Key Events

2.3.2Act 3, Scene 1: Key Ideas

2.3.3Act 3, Scene 2

2.3.4Act 3, Scene 3

2.3.5Act 3, Scene 4

2.4Act 4: Key Events & Ideas

2.4.1Act 4, Scene 1

2.4.2Act 4, Scenes 2-3

2.4.3Act 4, Scene 4

2.4.4Act 4, Scene 5: Key Events

2.4.5Act 4, Scene 5: Key Ideas

2.4.6Act 4, Scene 6

2.4.7Act 4, Scene 7

2.5Act 5: Key Events & Ideas

2.5.1Act 5, Scene 1: Key Events

2.5.2Act 5, Scene 2: Key Events

2.5.3Act 5, Scene 2: Key Ideas

3Character Profiles

3.1Hamlet

3.1.1Hamlet's Speech & Mind

3.1.2Hamlet's Heroic Status

3.1.3Hamlet's State of Mind

3.1.4Hamlet's Indecision/Action Taking

3.2Claudius

3.2.1Claudius' Crime

3.2.2Changing Impressions of Claudius

3.3Gertrude

3.3.1Mystery & Hamlet's View of Gertrude

3.3.2Gertrude's Character

3.3.3Gertrude's Relationship with Hamlet

3.4Ophelia

3.4.1Ophelia

3.5Polonius

3.5.1Portrayal of Polonius & Treatment of Ophelia

3.5.2Polonius' Spying & Death

3.6Laertes

3.6.1Laertes' Popularity & Relationship with Ophelia

3.6.2Laertes' Character Traits

4Key Themes

4.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.1.1Regicide in Hamlet

4.2Madness in Hamlet

4.2.1Madness in Hamlet

4.3Guilt & Punishment in Hamlet

4.3.1Guilt in Hamlet

4.3.2Punishment in Hamlet

4.4Settings in Hamlet

4.4.1Physical Settings & Historical Setting of Hamlet

5Writing Techniques

5.1Structure

5.1.1Structure of Hamlet

5.1.2'Play Within a Play' Structure

5.1.3Play-Acting Motif

5.2Form

5.2.1Soliloquy

5.2.2Comedy

5.3Imagery

5.3.1Imagery of Corruption & Decay

5.3.2Imagery: Healing, Performance & Costume

5.4Language

5.4.1Word Usage & Hendiadys

5.4.2Questions & Classical Allusions

6Context

6.1Social & Historical Context

6.1.1Elizabeth I & Succession

6.1.2Cosmic & Social Hierarchy

6.1.3Renaissance & Emergence of Humanism

6.1.4Regicide

6.1.5The Reformation

6.2Literary Context

6.2.1Seneca Tragedy

6.2.2The Revenge Tragedy

6.3Performance & Textual History

6.3.1Performance History of Hamlet

6.3.2Textual History of Hamlet

7Critical Debates

7.118-19th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.1.1Introduction to Critical Debates

7.1.218th Century Commentary on Hamlet

7.1.3Romantic Commentary on Hamlet

7.220th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.2.1Freudian Response to Hamlet

7.2.2Other Early 20th Century Responses to Hamlet

7.3Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.1Introduction to Feminist Criticism

7.3.2Feminist Readings of Hamlet

7.3.3Presentation of Ophelia

7.4Marxist/Political Readings of Hamlet

7.4.1Introduction to Marxist Criticisms

7.4.2Marxist Readings of Hamlet

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