Thursday, November 27, 2008

At last, for Yorick. Bequeathed skull stars in Hamlet

A concert pianist’s dying wish to appear on stage in Hamlet has been realised 26 years after his death.

André Tchaikowsky, a Polish Jew who escaped the Holocaust and settled in Britain, bequeathed his skull to the Royal Shakespeare Company to be used as a macabre prop.

From soon after his death in 1982 from cancer at the age of 46, Tchaikowsky’s final bequest has been kept in a box in a costume store. The relic finally emerged to take its place centre stage when David Tennant took on the role of Hamlet in Stratford-upon-Avon.



Tchaikowsky starred in 22 performances of the “Alas, poor Yorick” scene in which Hamlet holds aloft the skull of the court jester unearthed by a gravedigger.

The decision to use the skull was kept secret from the audience and many in the production crew for fear of distracting from Tennant’s performance. The truth was revealed after the final performance. The play will move to the Novello Theatre in London next week. It has yet to be decided if Tennant will use Tchaikowsky’s skull there.

The RSC had to obtain a licence from the Human Tissue Authority to use the skull because it is less than 100 years old.

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