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Rosenberg, Marvin, The Masks of Hamlet (1992). Scene-by-scene account, using actors' and directors' interpretations down the ages.
Wilson, J. Dover, What Happens in Hamlet (1935). Thorough investigation of key problems.
THE PLAY IN PERFORMANCE
Brooke, Michael, "Hamlet on Screen," www.screenonline.org.uk/tv/id/566312/index.html. Valuable overview. Registered schools, colleges, universities, and libraries have access to video clips, including extracts from the 1913 silent version, Olivier's 1948 film, and the 1964 production at Elsinore.
Dawson, Anthony B., Hamlet, Shakespeare in Performance (1996). Excellent roundup.
Hapgood, Robert ed., Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, Shakespeare in Production (1999). Good accounts of wide range of productions.
Howard, Tony, Women as Hamlet: Performance and Interpretation in Theatre, Film and Fiction (2007). Fascinating, and of even further-reaching interest than its title suggests.
Lavender, Andy, Hamlet in Pieces: Shakespeare Reworked by Peter Brook, Robert Lepage, Robert Wilson (2001). Lively accounts of experimental versions.
Maher, Mary Z., Modern Hamlets and Their Soliloquies (2003). Based on interviews with actors, including David Warner, Ben Kingsley, Kevin Kline.
Players of Shakespeare 1, 2, 3 (1985-93). Each of these three volumes includes excellent interviews with actors who have played major roles in Hamlet.
Royal Shakespeare Company, "Exploring Shakespeare: Hamlet," www.rsc.org.uk/learning/hamletandmacbeth/keyidea/hamletkeyidea.htm. Rehearsal footage, actor and director interviews, commentary on Michael Boyd's 2004 production.
For a more detailed Shakespeare bibliography and selections from a wide range of critical accounts of the play, with linking commentary, visit the edition website, www.therscshakespeare.com.
AVAILABLE ON DVD
Hamlet, directed by Hay Plumb (1913, DVD 2004). The longest Shakespeare film from the age of silent film.
Hamlet, directed by Laurence Olivier (1948). Highly influential.
Hamlet, directed by Grigori Kozintsev (1964). Powerful Russian version.
Richard Burton's Hamlet, directed by Bill Colleran (1964). Film of American stage production.
Hamlet at Elsinore, directed by Philip Saville (1964). Film of BBC television production that played at Elsinore; not currently available, but extracts may be seen via screenonline website (see above).
Hamlet, directed by Tony Richardson (1969). Film of London Roundhouse stage production starring Nicol Williamson.
Hamlet, BBC Television Shakespeare, directed by Rodney Bennett (1980). Starring Derek Jacobi.
Hamlet,
directed by Franco Zeffirelli (1990). Starring Mel Gibson.
Hamlet, directed by Kenneth Branagh (1996). Uncut text.
Hamlet, directed by Michael Almereyda (2000). Underrated version transposed to contemporary New York.
The Tragedy of Hamlet, directed by Peter Brook (BBC4 television, tx. 6 March 2002, DVD 2006). Starring Adrian Lester; superbly lucid version, in heavily cut text, with a documentary "Brook by Brook."
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
AND PICTURE CREDITS
Preparation of "Hamlet in Performance" was assisted by a generous grant from the CAPITAL Centre (Creativity and Performance in Teaching and Learning) of the University of Warwick for research in the RSC archive at the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust. The Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRC) funded a term's research leave that enabled Jonathan Bate to work on "The Director's Cut."
Picture research by Helen Robson and Jan Sewell. Grateful acknowledgment is made to the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust for assistance with picture research and reproduction fees.
Images of RSC productions are supplied by the Shakespeare Centre Library and Archive, Stratford-upon-Avon. This library, maintained by the Shakespeare Birthplace Trust, holds the most important collection of Shakespeare material in the UK, including the Royal Shakespeare Company's official archives. It is open to the public free of charge.
