what year was hamlet first performed

Hamlet’s first performance date is uncertain, but most scholars place it around 1600–1601. The play is commonly believed to have been written by William Shakespeare for the Lord Chamberlain’s Men (later the King’s Men), with the first recorded performances likely occurring in London in that early 1600s period. A frequently cited point is that the company’s activity at the time suggests a setting of a late 1599–1601 window, and some sources suggest a July 1602 date for one early performance, though estimates vary and the exact year remains a matter of scholarly debate. If you’d like, I can pull a few concise, reputable sources to show the range of scholarly estimates and summarize the reasons behind the different proposed years.