New Film “Elsinore” Revives Ian Charleson’s Near-Death Hamlet

Simon Stone’s biopic *Elsinore*—premiering at the Telluride festival this weekend and slated for the London Film Festival in October—stars Andrew Scott as Ian Charleson, the actor who performed Hamlet at the National Theatre while terminally ill with AIDS. The film reconstructs the 1989 production directed by Richard Eyre, which followed Daniel Day-Lewis’s abrupt departure from the role.

The Guardian

Born in Edinburgh in 1949, Charleson trained at the Bristol Old Vic and appeared as Eric Liddell in *Chariots of Fire* and in Richard Attenborough’s *Gandhi*. Despite early film promise, he repeatedly returned to the stage, tackling Shakespeare, Tennessee Williams, Chekhov and Sam Shepard. Diagnosed HIV in 1986, he joined Ian McKellen’s 1988 anti-Section 28 gala alongside Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave and Stephen Fry. At age 40, he accepted Eyre’s invitation to reprise Hamlet, despite severe health decline. During rehearsals he endured septicaemia, chemotherapy and painful acupuncture; the cast and audience were told his facial swelling resulted from a sinus operation, while Eyre later confirmed the disease had deformed his face. The six-week run was widely hailed as one of the finest Hamlets of its era. Charleson died on 6 January 1990, eight weeks after his final performance, and requested that AIDS be recorded as the cause—a public declaration at a time of widespread stigma.

The Guardian

Stone frames the story through Scott’s perspective, emphasizing the “mind-blowing” determination Charleson displayed while gravely ill. Eyre, who directed the original stage production, praised Scott’s portrayal as capturing both the actor’s appearance and emotional core. The film relies on recollections, photographs and contemporary accounts, as no recording of the original performance exists.

The Guardian

Charleson’s final Hamlet has entered theatrical lore; Ian McKellen famously refused the Evening Standard Best Actor award the night after the last show, gifting the statuette to Charleson. The biopic has sparked renewed discussion of his artistic legacy and the era’s AIDS-related stigma.

The Guardian

• “Ian was very bright, very witty, mischievous,” — Richard Eyre

The Guardian

• “Ian’s beautiful face was actually deformed by the disease,” — Richard Eyre

The Guardian

• “Do you think I can go on as Hamlet looking like this?” — Ian Charleson

The Guardian

• “Hamlet is a poem of death,” — Richard Eyre

The Guardian

• “The idea that Ian was doing this when he was so sick is still, to my mind, just completely mind-blowing,” — Andrew Scott

The Guardian