Annotated Playscript of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, director Brian Daubney's copy, c.83pp....
Annotated Playscript of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, director Brian Daubney's copy, c.83pp. laid down into lined notebook (recto only), extensive pencil and ink markings, under-linings, crossings-out and several annotations in Daubney's hand, original cloth-backed boards, paper label to upper cover, rather worn, together with, Daubney's Oxford Theatre Group workbook, containing an outline of a deal between the theatre group and Stoppard's agent, c.50ff., manuscript, original boards, rubbing and staining, together with Daubney's scrapbook with reviews, including the famous single positive review of the play from Ronald Bryden at Observer, programmes and several photographs loosely inserted, v.s., c.1966 (3)
*** An exceptional first-hand record of the earliest production of Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Brian Daubney (1945–2026) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966, before it became one of the defining works of modern British theatre.
The production was an obscure student staging, seen by only a handful of people. Daubney’s heavily annotated working script captures the text in transition, with some crossed-out passages retained in the first edition and other amendments subsequently incorporated into the published text. Also included is Daubney's Oxford Theatre Group workbook, filled with notes, technical committee lists, production details and an outline of the group’s negotiations with Stoppard’s agent, as well as his scrapbook of programmes, photographs and contemporary reviews. Particularly significant is the inclusion of Ronald Bryden’s review in The Observer, famously the only positive review the production received.
Provenance: Directly from the family of Brian Daubney, the director of this production of the play. He passed away in June 2026.
Annotated Playscript of Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, director Brian Daubney's copy, c.83pp. laid down into lined notebook (recto only), extensive pencil and ink markings, under-linings, crossings-out and several annotations in Daubney's hand, original cloth-backed boards, paper label to upper cover, rather worn, together with, Daubney's Oxford Theatre Group workbook, containing an outline of a deal between the theatre group and Stoppard's agent, c.50ff., manuscript, original boards, rubbing and staining, together with Daubney's scrapbook with reviews, including the famous single positive review of the play from Ronald Bryden at Observer, programmes and several photographs loosely inserted, v.s., c.1966 (3)
*** An exceptional first-hand record of the earliest production of Stoppard's Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead, directed by Brian Daubney (1945–2026) at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in 1966, before it became one of the defining works of modern British theatre.
The production was an obscure student staging, seen by only a handful of people. Daubney’s heavily annotated working script captures the text in transition, with some crossed-out passages retained in the first edition and other amendments subsequently incorporated into the published text. Also included is Daubney's Oxford Theatre Group workbook, filled with notes, technical committee lists, production details and an outline of the group’s negotiations with Stoppard’s agent, as well as his scrapbook of programmes, photographs and contemporary reviews. Particularly significant is the inclusion of Ronald Bryden’s review in The Observer, famously the only positive review the production received.
Provenance: Directly from the family of Brian Daubney, the director of this production of the play. He passed away in June 2026.
