British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Hamlet

Summary
1956 Associated Television presentation for ITV of London’s Phoenix Theatre production of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, abridged and staged in the studio. This was the first production of a Shakespeare play on British commercial television.
Theatre play
Hamlet by William Shakespeare [more information]
Date of transmission
Monday 27 February 1956
Time
8.00pm
Channel
ITV
Production company
Associated Television (ATV, 1955-1982)
Theatre company
Phoenix Theatre, London

Credits

Director
Peter Brook
Playwright
William Shakespeare
Cast
Alec ClunesClaudius
Harry H. CorbettGravedigger
Richard JohnsonLaertes
Paul ScofieldHamlet
Ernest ThesigerPolonius
Mary UreOphelia
Diana WynyardGertrude

Additional details

Extant status
No archival copy is known to exist.
Play tags
Denmark, as theme or setting; murder; royalty

Print sources

Title
BUFVC Shakespeare database: Hamlet (Website: database)
Reference
http://bufvc.ac.uk/shakespeare/index.php/title/AV66532 (accessed 23 January 2015)
Notes
A record on the BUFVC’s Shakespeare database.
Title
Hamlet Revisited, or The Critic Stands His Ground: More Reflections on an ITV Production (Newspaper review)
Author/creator
Bernard Levin (Reviewer)
Reference
The Manchester Guardian, 10 March 1956, p. 5
Title
ITV Hamlet Faces Trial - Ninety Minutes - and All Found Guilty (Newspaper review)
Author/creator
Bernard Levin (Reviewer)
Reference
The Manchester Guardian, 3 March 1956, p. 5

Record Stats

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