Robert Gore-Langton

John Gielgud and Richard Burton’s fraught, botched, triumphant Hamlet

The booze-drenched rehearsals became the stuff of legend – and have now been turned into a play at the National

Richard Burton, who was sloshed from beginning to end, and Eileen Herlie as Gertrude in the 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet, directed by John Gielgud [Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo] 
issue 29 April 2023

In 1963 two Hamlets went into production: one directed by Laurence Olivier, the other by John Gielgud. The situation had been engineered by Richard Burton and Peter O’Toole. The story goes that while shooting the film Becket, Burton and O’Toole had decided they should each play the Prince under either Olivier or Gielgud and they tossed a coin over who would get which director.

GIF Image

Disagree with half of it, enjoy reading all of it

TRY 3 MONTHS FOR $5
Our magazine articles are for subscribers only. Start your 3-month trial today for just $5 and subscribe to more than one view

Comments

Join the debate for just £1 a month

Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.

Already a subscriber? Log in