“A true billet-doux to Theatre and the humanity of stagecraft”

The Noël Coward Theatre presents the perfect backdrop, where Gielgud himself played Hamlet in 1935. 

Theatre, in modern times, seems to require a pull, attracting spectators to buy tickets and fill seats, whether it be a famous face leading the cast or the story of an icon. Jack Thorne’s offering, and National Theatre’s transferring play, The Motive and The Cue has such pull  – superstar couple Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the tale of two theatrical forces Gielgud and Burton, Shakespeare’s masterpiece Hamlet and the directorial eye of renowned director Sam Mendes. In this case, this appeal may get you to the theatre but what keeps you there is so much more.

A play about the much documented rehearsals about a play, this tumultuous behind the scenes glimpse of Richard Burton’s ‘Hamlet’ depicts the clash between two acting titans, Burton and John Gielgud culminating in the groundbreaking 1964 production. The action is well-balanced, featuring atmospheric sections of the Bard’s Hamlet whilst set changes are made amongst cinematic curtain draws and sleek set design from Es Devlin.

The script lends itself to drama and comedy, with Gielgud (Mark Gatiss) and Burton (Johnny Flynn) in the thick of the action and more snide, cut-throat lines at each other that their fellow cast mates can duck from. It would be easy to be lost in such a large cast of 18, but impressively, each character is able to leave an impact and have enough room to play, in between dodging the rubble of the main protagonist’s battle of ego and the traditional vs the changing landscape of stagecraft. The character of Elizabeth Taylor (Tuppence Middleton) is comprised of her extroverted and glamorous stage persona, continuously providing excessive sexual innuendos or strongly encouraging Burton to eat a slice of humble pie. Gatiss and Flynn are majestic in their acting partnership, balancing each other out magnificently. A climactic result of this presented in the form of Burton, under Gielgud’s encouragement, exploring ‘his’ Hamlet in the famous “To Be or Not To Be” soliloquy. 

From the moment the curtain draws open, it must be said that Gatiss steals the show, with a performance worthy of the theatrical giant he is playing. Though interpreting a real life person may look like a plethora of trademark hand gestures and well-known postures and facial expressions, Gatiss creates a living, breathing version of Gielgud. Masterfully communicating not only the character’s lines but the complex thematic undertones of exploring one’s self through one’s art.

A brave, bold recreation of Burton and Gielgud’s Hamlet rehearsals and a true billet-doux to Theatre and the humanity of stagecraft.