Extracting the BBC Genome: Shakespeare at the BBC: Hamlet.

Shakespeare With the Shakespeare Festival still in full swing at the BBC, I thought it would be an idea to see how often some of my favourite plays have appeared on the BBC, which is now somewhat possible thanks to the BBC Genome. We begin with Hamlet, because having seen a fair few of them now, it would be nice to see which ones I'm yet to catch up with.

Find a list below.  Since they're all Hamlets, I've highlighted the transmission details.  They're all with BBC selected casts unless otherwise stated and I've just included the first transmission details - Gielgud's 1948 effort was repeated numerous times in subsequent years.  I've also only included complete or near complete productions.  Including excerpts would make this list five times longer.

Note that I've also included data from outside the Genome in relation to the World Service because due to the vagaries of how the database was set up - utilising Radio Times data, for some reason there are gaps specifically the version starring John Duttine.  But I'm adding him back in for completions sake.

Notes:  The first film Hamlet to appear on the BBC was the Kozintsev version.  The Olivier didn't appear until 1973.  Cedric Messina, who produced the Michael Redgrave version on the Third Programme in 1960, was the producer of the 80s TV adaptation with Jacobi.  The Ian McKellan broadcast was a complete surprise.  I wonder if it's still available.

2LO London, 15 February 1924 19.30
Radio.  Hamlet unknown. Produced by Sydney Russell. Company is the B.N.O.C.

5WA Cardiff, 29 May 1924 19.35
Radio.  Hamlet unknown.  Directed unknown.

2LO London and 5XX Daventry, 18 July 1928 21.35
Radio.  Hamlet played by Gyles Isham.  Director unknown.

National Programme Daventry, 5 June 1932 16.15
Radio.  Hamlet played by John Gielgud. Produced by Barbara Burnham.

National Programme Daventry, 16 December 1934 17.30
Radio.  Hamlet played by Stephen Haggard. Produced by Barbara Burnham.

Regional Programme London, 2 January 1938 21.05
Radio.  Hamlet played by Leslie Howard. Produced by Barbara Burnham.

BBC Home Service Basic, 6 October 1940 21.25
Radio.  Hamlet played by John Gielgud. Produced by Barbara Burnham.

BBC Home Service Basic, 8 April 1946 19.20
Radio.  Hamlet played by Barry Morse. Produced by Howard Rose.

BBC Television, 7 December 1947 20.30
TV.  Hamlet played by John Byron. Produced by George More O'Ferrall.

Third Programme, 26 December 1948 18.00
Radio.  Hamlet played by John Gielgud. Production by John Richmond.

Third Programme, 23 October 1960 17.40
Radio.  Hamlet played by Michael Redgrave. Produced by Cedric Messina.

BBC One London, 19 April 1964 20.05
TV.  Hamlet played by Christopher Plummer. Directed by Philip Saville. A BBC-Danmarks Radio recording. [review] [amazon]

BBC Home Service Basic, 20 January 1965 14.20
Radio.  Hamlet played by Michael Bryant. Produced by Robert Gittings.

Network Three, 18 September 1966 18.10
Radio.  Hamlet played by Kenneth Griffith. Directed by John Gibson.

BBC Radio 3, 30 March 1970 19.30
Radio.  Hamlet played by John Gielgud. Produced by Bennett Maxwell. Recreation from vinyl records.

BBC Two England, 11 September 1970 20.50
Film.  Hamlet played by Innokenti Smoktunovsky. Directed by Grigori Kozintsev. [review] [amazon]

BBC Radio 3, 31 October 1971 18.50
Radio. Hamlet played by Ronald Pickup. Produced by John Tydeman. [review] [amazon]

BBC Two England, 23 September 1972 21.05
TV. Hamlet played by Ian McKellan. Directed by David Giles. Prospect Theatre Company.

BBC Two England, 22 September 1973 20.45
Film. Hamlet played by Laurence Olivier. Directed by Laurence Olivier. [review] [amazon] [free legal stream]

BBC Two England, 12 March 1978 22.35
Film. Hamlet played by Nicol Williamson. Directed by Tony Richardson. The Roundhouse Theatre Company. [review] [amazon]

BBC Two England, 25 May 1980 19.15
TV. Hamlet played by Derek Jacobi. Directed by Rodney Bennett. [review] [amazon]

BBC World Service  4 September 1983 
Radio.  Hamlet played by John Duttine.  Produced by Colin Davis. [review]

BBC Radio 3, 26 April 1992 19.00
Radio. Hamlet played by Kenneth Branagh. Directed by Glyn Dearman. A Radio 3/Renaissance Theatre Company co-production. [review] [amazon]

BBC Two England, 7 December 1992 19.25
Animation. Hamlet played by Nicholas Farrell. Produced by David Edwards. [review] [amazon]

BBC Two England, 30 October 1994 22.25
Film. Hamlet played by Mel Gibson. Directed by Franco Zeffirelli. [review] [amazon]

BBC Radio 3, 12 September 1999 19.30
Radio. Hamlet played by Michael Sheen. Directed by Jeremy Mortimer. [review] [amazon]

BBC Knowledge, 6 March 2002 21.00
TV. Hamlet played by Adrian Lester. Directed by Peter Brook. Theatre de Bouffes du Nord. [review]

BBC Radio 4 FM, 30 June 2007 19.00
Radio. Hamlet played by John Dougall. Directed byu Eoin O'Callaghan. Tom Stoppard adaptation. [review]

BBC Two England, 26 December 2009 17.05
TV. Hamlet played by David Tennant. Directed by Gregory Doran. Royal Shakespeare Company. [review] [amazon]

BBC Radio 4, 24 March 2014 14.15
Radio. Hamlet played by Jamie Parker. Directed by Marc Beeby. [amazon]

Further details of all these productions can be found at An International Database of Shakespeare on Film, Television and Radio.