Rosencrantz & Guildenstern are very much alive in my memories of unforgettable theatre, says Judi Herman, as she reflects on the first production by Tom Stoppard, who died last month
Back in 1967, up in the cheap seats of the top gallery of London’s Old Vic Theatre, two excited teenage schoolgirls leant perilously over the rail, enthralled by the unfolding drama onstage.
I know, because I was the girl who had managed to convince her that the production, Rozencrantz and Guildernstern are Dead, by the young and unknown young dramatist Tom Stoppard, was going to be worth it – especially after queuing for tickets from 10am that morning.
At school, our keen young English teacher had introduced us to Hamlet, so I was immediately excited by the title of Stoppard’s play. Our teacher also introduced us to TS Eliot, and I could not help remembering the intriguing lines from the poem The Lovesong of J Alfred Prufrock, beginning: “No! I am not Prince Hamlet, nor was meant to be/Am an attendant lord, one that will do/To swell a progress, start a scene or two…” Stoppard’s play, of course, placed these ‘attendant lords’ centre stage.
One of the attractions for these two teenagers proved to be the actors playing the leads. This was long before the days of sharing info online, but we were on mailing lists and read newspapers and magazines. The black and white photograph we’d seen of the two young actors in doublet and hose, John Stride (Rosencrantz) and Edward Petherbridge (Guildenstern), was quite enough to make us long to see the pair in the flesh.
Under director Derek Goldby, the combination of perfect casting and skilful character acting produced memorable performances from both. In his stolid portrayal of Rosencrantz, Stride captured perfectly the straightforward, down to earth nature of the character. The enquiring, philosophical Guildenstern was given a suitably exasperated air in the hands of Petherbridge. Their pseudo philosophical argument at the beginning of the play becomes progressively heated – and that was part of the fun.
The stage was equally engaging, evoking a glittering Danish court while the Elizabethan period costumes in rich velvets, silks and satins were thrilling. But the real beauty of it was how very daring ‘our Tom’ was with what is often regarded as sacred Shakespeare. My friend and I became instant Stoppardians forever.
By Judi Herman
Photo by Matt Humphrey