In 1964, Welsh actor Richard Burton – newly married to the Hollywood starlet Elizabeth Taylor – took the title role in John Gielgud’s soon-to-be-memorable production of Hamlet for Broadway. Why would a famous movie star of Gielgud’s stature choose to stage a play everyone already knows? And what keeps us returning to the same plays year after year? Such is the musing of writer Jack Thorne, who has written a play all about the making of Burton and Gielgud’s Hamlet, which is showing at the National Theatre this spring under the direction of the great Sam Mendes.
Folksy heartthrob Johnny Flynn stars as Burton, with Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss – who recently directed his pal Steven Moffat's play The Unfriend and ABBA tribute The Way Old Friends Do at the Park Theatre – playing Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton (Mank, Downton Abbey) portraying Elizabeth Taylor.
| What | The Motive and the Cue, National Theatre |
| Where | National Theatre, South Bank, London, SE1 9PX | MAP |
| Nearest tube | Waterloo (underground) |
| When |
20 Apr 23 – 15 Jul 23, 7:30 PM – 10:00 PM |
| Price | £20 - £89 |
| Website | Click here for more information and to book |
