Weapons of Happiness became the first commissioned play to be performed at the reopened National Theatre when it premièred on the Lyttelton stage on 14 July 1976."National Theatre" Retrieved on 6 October 2009 The cast included Geoffrey Bateman as Joseph Stalin, Nick Brimble, Julie Covington, Frank Finlay as Josef Frank, Bernard Gallagher, Michael Medwin, William Russell and Derek Thompson. It was designed by Hayden Griffin and directed by David Hare, a collaborator of Brenton from Portable Theatre Company and co-writer with him of Brassneck and Pravda, itself staged at the National. Given the subject of the play, it is ironic that its first production took place against the backdrop of the National Theatre itself undergoing a good deal of difficulties with trade unions.Cf. Peter Hall's Diaries
