The Old Vic Bicentenary stamp issue 30 August 2018

The bicentenary of the Old Vic has been marked by a set of eight stamps in four se-tenant pairs.  The iconic Old Vic has hosted most of our greatest actors at some point in their careers, many of whom have cited their Old Vic production as among their career highlights.

Over the last 60 years in particular, 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 their heyday performing some of their greatest performances at The Old Vic, from the 1960s to modern day.

The stamp designs by hat-trick design, who also produced the 2011 Royal Shakespeare Company set featuring equally bizarre typography, although the MS was innovative.

The production and lead actors featured on the stamps are highlighted in bold below. The typography used in the stamps is woodblock set typography, done by Kelvyn Laurence Smith.

1st Class The Dance of Death, 1967 by August Strindber. Starring Laurence Olivier, Translated by CD Locock, Directed by Glen Byam Shaw.
1st Class King Lear, 2016 by William Shakespeare. Starring Glenda Jackson, Directed by Deborah Warner.

£1.25 Hamlet, 1975 by William Shakespeare. Starring Albert Finney, Directed by Peter Hall.
£1.25 Hedda Gabler, 1970 by Henrik Ibsen. Starring Maggie Smith, Translated by Michael Meyer Directed by Ingmar Bergman.

£1.45 No Man’s Land, 1975 by Harold Pinter. Starring John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson, Directed by Peter Hall
£1.45 Carmen Jones, 1991 by Oscar Hammerstein II. Starring Sharon Benson, Directed by Simon Callow.

£1.55 Romeo and Juliet, 1960 by William Shakespeare. Starring Judi Dench and John Stride, Directed by Franco Zeffirelli.
£1.55 Henry V, 1955 by William Shakespeare. Starring Richard Burton, Directed by Michael Benthall

Technical Details
Printer: International Security Printers (Cartor)
Stamp Size 35mm (w) x 37mm (h)
Sheet Format: 60 per sheet, 4 se-tenant pairs
Print process: Lithography, ordinary gum.

Design:
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.

Products
Set of 8 stamps - Presentation Pack - First Day Cover - Stamp Cards

Information from Royal Mail - we are not stocking these products.

Sidenote: Oddly the 250th anniversary of the Bristol Old Vic was marked by Royal Mail with a sligan postmark two years ago in May 2016.

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