The Old Vic (UK 2018)

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[from Royal Mail]
Issue Date: Friday 30th August 2018

Products/Price/Code

  • 8 Special Stamps (2x 1st, 2x 1.25, 2x 1.45, 2x 1.55) £9.84 AS3967
  • First Day Cover Stamps £12.23 AF437
  • Presentation Pack £10.35 AP450
  • Stamp Souvenir £12.23 AW083
  • First Day Envelope £0.30 AE392
  • Set of 8 Postcards £3.60 AQ267

Reason and Inspiration:
To mark the bicentenary of one of the most important venues in the UK’s performing history, where most of our greatest actors have played.

The Old Vic has played an important part in the development of modern British theatre, with many great actors making their names on its influential stage. This stamp issue commemorates eight of these actors in some of their greatest performances at The Old Vic, from the 1950s to modern day:

  • Richard Burton – Henry V, 1955
  • Judi Dench and John Stride – Romeo and Juliet, 1960
  • Laurence Olivier – The Dance of Death, 1967
  • Maggie Smith – Hedda Gabler, 1970
  • Ralph Richardson and John Gielgud – No Man’s Land, 1975
  • Albert Finney – Hamlet, 1975
  • Sharon Benson – Carmen Jones, 1991
  • Glenda Jackson – King Lear, 2016

About the subjects:

The Dance of Death, 1967
By August Strindberg
Translated by CD Locock
Directed by Glen Byam Shaw
Starring Laurence Olivier (featured on stamp).

King Lear, 2016
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Deborah Warner
Starring Glenda Jackson

 

Hamlet, 1975
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Peter Hall
Starring Albert Finney

 

Hedda Gabler, 1970
By Henrik Ibsen
Translated by Michael Meyer
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Starring Maggie Smith

 

No Man’s Land, 1975
By Harold Pinter
Directed by Peter Hall
Starring John Gielgud and
Ralph Richardson

Carmen Jones, 1991
By Oscar Hammerstein II
Directed by Simon Callow
Starring Sharon Benson

 

Romeo and Juliet, 1960
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Franco Zeffirelli
Starring Judi Dench and
John Stride

Henry V, 1955
By William Shakespeare
Directed by Michael Benthall
Starring Richard Burton

 

Technical details:

  • Number of stamps: Eight
  • Value of Stamps: 2 x 1st class, 2 x £1.25, 2 x £1.45, 3 x £1.55
  • Design: hat-trick design
  • Acknowledgements: The Dance of Death – photograph of Laurence Olivier © Zoë Dominic, used with kind permission of Catherine Ashmore; costume design by Motley; King Lear – photograph of Glenda Jackson © Marilyn Kingwill/ArenaPAL; costume design by Zeb Lalljee; content used with kind permission of The Old Vic; Hamlet – photograph of Albert Finney © Donald Cooper/Photostage; costume design by John Bury; Hedda Gabler – photograph of Maggie Smith © Zoë Dominic, used with kind permission of Catherine Ashmore; costume design by Mago; No Man’s Land – play by Harold Pinter used with kind permission of FPinter Limited; photograph of Sir John Gielgud and Sir Ralph Richardson © Nobby Clark /ArenaPAL; costume design by John Bury; Carmen Jones – play by Oscar Hammerstein II used with kind permission of Hammerstein Properties LLC; photograph of Sharon Benson © Neil Libbert/ ArenaPAL; costume design by Bruno Santini; Romeo and Juliet – photograph of Dame Judi Dench and John Stride © Express Newspapers/N&S Syndication; costume design by Peter J Hall; content used with kind permission of The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation; Henry V – photograph of Richard Burton by Angus McBean © Houghton Library, Harvard University; content featured with kind permission of The Royal Victoria Hall Foundation; costume design by Audrey Cruddas
  • Stamp Format: Portrait
  • Stamp Size: 35mm x 37mm
  • Number per sheet: 30/60
  • Printer: International Security Printers
  • Print Process: Lithography
  • Perforations: 14.5 x 14
  • Phosphor: Bars as appropriate
  • Gum: PVA