Past Productions: 1965

In 1965 Peter Hall cast 24 year old David Warner to play his Hamlet. Hall was keen to attract a youthful audience to the production, and did so by presenting Hamlet as a contemporary youth, disillusioned by the world around him. The look of Hamlet was quite significant. He was scruffy in his appearance and attire, wearing a moth eaten black gown and red scarf, looking every inch a university undergraduate.

Peter Hall was determined to present Elsinore as a hostile environment. In his first appearance, stood between Claudius and Polonius, Hamlet looked trapped. This was a Hamlet who was being watched; a Hamlet who wasn't free to roam and do as he pleased. Warner was a young Hamlet who felt pinioned right from the start of the play.

Here's Hamlet with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern. David Warner had a conversational quality in his delivery of Shakespeare's verse. Some reviewers suggested that Warner mumbled the lines, but for others his performance seemed natural and full of immediacy.

Glenda Jackson's young Ophelia received no comfort whatsoever from Polonius or Claudius. She was a pawn in their political chess game. She seemed, at first a woman of tense strength, but slowly her self control snapped. Here she is pictured pointing an accusatory finger at those she holds responsible for her family’s tragedy.

Here you have Hamlet at the graveside. Hall’s production revelled in absurdist humour tinged with dark, grotesque imagery. This Hamlet ended his days with a burst of laughter.

Cast and Crew

© RSC 2009 Commentary by Nick Walton from Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, 1965 photography by Reg Wilson

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