When Tennant’s production of Hamlet opened last year in Stratford-Avon Tennant accidentally leaked to the press that the skull used in the play as a prop was actually the remains of Tchaikovsky who bequeathed his remains to the RSC.
After the ensuing publicity the RSC announced that a fake skull would be used once the play opened in London so that the audiences would not be distracted. However, nine months into the play Greg Doran, the director confessed that actually Tchaikovsky’s skull has been part of the production throughout the play’s entirety. Additionally, the same skull will be used in the film version of the play that will air on the BBC.
Doran stated that the skull was used in the film and during both runs even though he kept it quiet so that audiences would not get carried away. He stated that the skull was a great part of the Hamlet production to honour how much he meant to the company.
Tchaikovsky died at age 46 after a battle with cancer and was smuggled out of the Warsaw ghetto until he finally settled in England.
Doran stated that the skull inspired the actors to take the play to the next level because it is hard not to think of your own immortality while holding the skull of a real person in your hands. He stated that he had as feeling that if Tchaikovsky knew that his skull was being used as a prop he would have been amused.
