The National Theatre's Hamlet: A Record

Abstract

The National Theatre's 1975–1976 production of Hamlet was its first since the inaugural production of 1963, director Peter Hall's first since the 1965 Royal Shakespeare Company version, and Albert Finney's first attempt at the title role. Originally intended to be the first play done in the Olivier Theatre, the large thrust-stage auditorium in the National Theatre's new London building, it instead became one of the last to be presented at the Old Vic when construction delays postponed the opening of the new house. Hamlet opened at the Old Vic on 10 December 1975, and moved to the Lyttleton, the smaller proscenium theatre in the new building, on 16 March 1976, to continue in repertory through the year.