The new UK trailer for Elsinore has been released on October 7, 2026, the same day the film receives its European premiere as the Opening Night Gala of the 70th BFI London Film Festival at the Royal Festival Hall. Directed by Simon Stone and starring Andrew Scott as actor Ian Charleson, the film tells the story of Charleson as he prepares to play Hamlet at the National Theatre while privately battling AIDS. The premiere venue also carries a direct connection to Charleson’s story: the Royal Festival Hall is only a short distance from the National Theatre, where Charleson gave his final performances as Hamlet in 1989.
The two London buildings connected to the film’s story are particularly significant. The Royal Festival Hall, where Elsinore has its European premiere on October 7, stands close to the National Theatre, where Charleson gave his final performances as Hamlet in 1989. The location gives the film’s London premiere an unusual connection to the history it is revisiting.
The story had already taken an unexpected turn before Charleson stepped into Hamlet. Daniel Day-Lewis had been playing the role in Richard Eyre’s production when he walked off during the run and did not return. The episode became part of theatre folklore, with Day-Lewis later speaking about memories of his late father, poet Cecil Day-Lewis, during the production.
Charleson was then asked to take over. He was already seriously ill, but he accepted the role and carried on with the production as his health deteriorated. What followed became one of the most talked-about performances of his career. His final Hamlet was received with enormous acclaim, and the performance has since become an important part of the National Theatre’s history.
There was a painful reality behind the performance that most people watching from the audience did not know. Charleson was dying of AIDS. He continued rehearsing and performing while dealing with a condition that, at the time, was still surrounded by fear, misinformation and stigma. Richard Eyre later remembered Charleson’s final curtain call as resembling that of an exhausted boxer standing through the applause.
Charleson’s story did not end when the theatre lights went down. After his death on January 6, 1990, his family made his AIDS diagnosis public, following his wishes. At a time when AIDS was rarely discussed openly and carried enormous stigma, the decision helped bring greater attention to the disease and to the reality of those living with it.
That history gives Elsinore a story far larger than the making of one Hamlet. It takes audiences into a period when HIV and AIDS were changing lives, while also looking at the private world of an actor who was determined to keep working. The film does not simply revisit a famous performance; it returns to the person behind it.
And the casting of Andrew Scott adds another remarkable layer. In 2017, Scott himself played Hamlet in Robert Icke’s acclaimed production at the Almeida Theatre, bringing his own celebrated interpretation of Shakespeare’s prince to the London stage. The BFI now describes Scott’s performance as Charleson as a major part of this year’s festival opening.
So when Scott appears as Charleson in Elsinore, he is entering a story he already knows from the other side of the curtain. He has played Hamlet. Charleson played Hamlet for the final time. And now, only steps from the theatre where that final performance happened, Scott is bringing Charleson’s story back to London.
The film’s October 7 European premiere at the BFI London Film Festival marks the beginning of its wider theatrical journey. Elsinore is scheduled to open in UK cinemas on January 29, 2027, through STUDIOCANAL, while Focus Features will release the film in select U.S. theaters on November 20, 2026.
Watch Trailer
