Daniel Radcliffe in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to Stream Online

Filmed live in London's Old Vic theatre, David Leveaux’s production marked the 50th anniversary of the play that made a young Tom Stoppard’s name overnight.

Against the backdrop of Hamlet, two hapless minor characters, Rosencrantz (Daniel Radcliffe) and Guildenstern (Joshua McGuire), take center stage. As the young double act stumble their way in and out of the action of Shakespeare’s iconic drama, they become increasingly out of their depth as their version of the story unfolds.

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead originally had its first professional production at London’s Old Vic Theatre in April 1967, with The National Theatre opening its doors just four years earlier. The acclaimed 2018 production with Radcliffe was staged (and filmed) at the same theater where the original production premiered. 

Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead will be joining the National Theatre's NTatHome streaming library in all regions. The play will start streaming in April, with an exact date to be published soon.

In his review for The Guardian, Michael Billington said: "The comedy comes across well in this production because the two lead actors are so sharply contrasted. Radcliffe’s bearded Rosencrantz is lean, anxious and prone to sudden attacks of panic: McGuire’s clean-shaven Guildenstern is broad-featured, toothy and determined to look on the bright side. Each, at times, partakes of the other’s qualities. But they form a classic double-act whose quickfire exchanges disguise the fact they are both struggling to find identity and purpose in a world that makes little sense."

London’s National Theatre launched "National Theatre at Home" in 2020 as an on-demand streaming platform featuring most of its productions that were filmed as part of the National Theatre Live program. Those titles include Tom Hiddleston's Coriolanus, Medea with Helen McCrory, Mosquitos with Olivia Colman, and Amadeus, starring Adam Gillen and Lucian Msamati. A full list of the available library is now available on NTatHome.