Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (play)

Not to be confused with Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead.

Illustration for a 1904 celebrity charity performance, with the author as Claudius

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, A Tragic Episode, in Three Tabloids is a short play by W. S. Gilbert that parodies William Shakespeare's Hamlet. The main characters in Gilbert's play are King Claudius and Queen Gertrude of Denmark, their son Prince Hamlet, the courtiers Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, and Ophelia.

Gilbert's play first appeared in Fun magazine in 1874 after having been rejected for production by several theatre companies.[1][2] The first professional performance of the work was not until June 1891, a benefit matinée at the Vaudeville Theatre in London.[3] The play finally ran at the Court Theatre from 27 April 1892 to 15 July, about 77 performances,[4] with Decima Moore as Ophelia, Brandon Thomas as Claudius and Weedon Grossmith as Hamlet.[5] An amateur performance in 1900 featured P. G. Wodehouse as Guildenstern.[6] The play also enjoyed a production in New York City at the Murray Hill Theatre in 1900. A charity performance in 1902 featured Gilbert himself as Claudius, with Nancy McIntosh as Gertrude.[7] Gilbert again played Claudius at a charity performance in 1904 at the Garrick Theatre (also featuring Clo Graves, Francis Burnand, Edward Rose, Paul Rubens, Lady Colin Campbell, Madeleine Lucette Ryley, Col. Newnham Davis, Alfred Sutro, Alicia Ramsey, Edward Rose and Capt. Robert Marshall)[8][9][10] and in a 1908 revival at the Lyceum Theatre starring Marion Terry.[11]

A televised performance of the play was given in 1938 with Grahame Clifford as Claudius, Erik Chitty as Guildenstern, Leonard Sachs as Rosencrantz, and Peter Ridgeway as Hamlet.[12] The play continues to receive occasional productions.[13]

  1. ^ Ainger, p. 105
  2. ^ Stedman, p. 127
  3. ^ The Era, 7 May 1892, p. 9, gives the date as 14 June, but Who's Who in the Theatre, 14th edition, Pitman 1967, ISBN 0-273-43345-8, gives it as 3 June.
  4. ^ Moss, Simon. "Rosencrantz and Guildenstern" at Gilbert & Sullivan: a selling exhibition of memorabilia, c20th.com, accessed 21 November 2009
  5. ^ The Era, 30 April 1892, p. 9
  6. ^ McCrum, p. 36
  7. ^ The Manchester Guardian, 7 November 1902, p. 4
  8. ^ Theatre programme, 19 July 1904, Garrick Theatre, "A Special Matinee in Aid of The Bushey Heath Cottage Hospital". "Harlequin & The Fairy's Dilemma" and "Rosencrantz & Guildenstern"
  9. ^ The Manchester Guardian, 20 July 1904, p. 4. The advertised cast included George Bernard Shaw, Anthony Hope and Henry Arthur Jones, but they did not appear in the performance. The Fairy's Dilemma was the curtain raiser.
  10. ^ "Special matinee by amateurs at [the] Garrick Theatre..." Folger Shakespeare Library. Retrieved 5 October 2022.
  11. ^ The Times, 15 July 1908, p. 15
  12. ^ IMDb entry for the 1938 TV version
  13. ^ Notice of a 2007 performance of the play