The Old Vic is getting its own limited-edition stamps

The venerable Old Vic has been celebrating its two hundredth birthday all year – but the high point will surely be this Thursday, when Royal Mail releases a limited-edition series of stamps commemorating eight of the most iconic productions to grace its stages.

The legend-heavy shows chosen for the stamp treatment date from 1955, there not having been much stage photography in the Victorian era. They are ‘Henry V’ starring Richard Burton (1955), ‘Romeo and Juliet’ starring Judi Dench (1960), ‘The Dance of Death’ starring Laurence Olivier (1967), ‘Hedda Gabler’ starring Maggie Smith (1970), ‘Hamlet’ starring Albert Finney (1975), ‘No Man's Land’ starring John Gielgud and Ralph Richardson (1975), ‘Carmen Jones’ starring Wilhelmenia Fernandez, and ‘King Lear’ starring Glenda Jackson (2016).

Stamps go on sale this Thursday from the Royal Mail website.

See what’s currently on at The Old Vic.