Edward Gordon Craig (1872-1966), designer, director and theorist, was a controversial figure whose writings have had a great influence on 20th century theatre. Craig reacted against the stage realism of his day, believing that painted scenery and a naturalistic interpretation of characters distracted attention from the essence of the play. His designs, most made for productions which never took place, were simple and non-illusory. They were characterised by towering vertical masses and were intended as a background for actors who would subordinate themselves to the drama. It was the beginning of what came to be called Director's Theatre, in which director and designer offered a strong co-ordinated interpretation of each work.

In 1908 Constantin Stanislavsky, director of the Moscow Art Theatre, invited Craig to direct and design Hamlet. Craig's model suggests a static, monumental setting of stark white walls, but these represent a series of moveable screens, to be used to change the shape of the acting area. Colour was to be provided by the lighting. In practice Craig's vision was beyond the technology of the Moscow Art Theatre, although Stanislavsky spent two years endeavouring to find a way of realising the designer's intentions. Craig wanted his tall screens to glide into position in front of the audience but the problems of keeping them mobile, upright and stable could not be resolved and the scenes had to be changed behind traditional stage curtains. They were still able to create memorable images: in his book, My Life in Art, Stanislavsky described a curving corridor of screens coloured in gilt paper in which the solitary figure of Hamlet was reflected.

This plaster model was made by the designer Teddy Craig (Edward Gordon Craig's son, who worked under the name Edward Carrick). It is a re-construction, created in 1921 to illustrate Edward Gordon Craig's theories of set design based on original ideas for Hamlet. As Craig wrote, the model is 'different to any I have yet shown... its rather good.' It arrived at the V&A in January 1922 but is not one of the three models of Hamlet included in the International Theatre Exhibition in Amsterdam which was brought to the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1922.