Half a century after its premiere on The Old Vic stage, Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are Dead, the play that made a young Tom Stoppard’s name overnight, returns to The Old Vic in its 50th anniversary celebratory production.
Against the backdrop of Shakespeare’s Hamlet, this mind-bending situation comedy sees two hapless minor characters, Rosencrantz (Daniel Radcliffe) and Guildenstern (Joshua McGuire), take centre stage. Increasingly out of their depth, the young double act stumble their way in and out of the action of this iconic drama. In a literary hall of mirrors, Stoppard’s brilliantly funny, existential labyrinth sees us witness the ultimate identity crisis.
David Haig plays The Player. David’s most recent theatre credits include Blue/Orange (Young Vic), Guys & Dolls (Savoy Theatre, Olivier Award nomination), and Someone Who’ll Watch Over Me at Chichester Festival Theatre where previous credits include Pressure which was also written by David and Yes, Prime Minister, which transferred to the West End. Other theatre credits include The Madness of George III (Theatre Royal Bath and West End, Olivier Award nomination), Mary Poppins (Prince Edward Theatre, Olivier Award nomination), Hitchcock Blonde (Royal Court and West End), Donkey’s Years (Comedy Theatre, Olivier Award Nomination), Art (Wyndham’s and Broadway), and Our Country’s Good at the Royal Court, for which David won the Olivier Award for Best Actor. Television credits include The Witness for the Prosecution, The Thick Of It, Mo, The 39 Steps, My Boy Jack, Talking Heads and The Thin Blue Line. Film credits include Florence Foster Jenkins and Four Weddings and a Funeral.
Other cast includes Luke Mullins as Hamlet (Endgame with the Melbourne Theatre Company, Waiting for Godot at The Barbican Centre), Marianne Oldham as Gertrude (The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas at Chichester Festival Theatre, Sons Without Fathers at The Arcola) and Helena Wilson as Ophelia (Romeo and Juliet, OUDS/Thelma Holt International Tour).
ROSENCRANTZ & GUILDENSTERN ARE DEAD plays at the Old Vic Theatre 25 Feb – 29 Apr 2017. Get tickets