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Theatre

Hamlet, Barbican

05 Aug 15 – 31 Oct 15, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM

Mixed reviews for Benedict Cumberbatch's Hamlet: get day tickets and decide for yourself at the Barbican

By Lucy Brooks on 26/8/2015

12 CW readers are interested
Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet, Barbican: photo by Johan Persson
Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet, Barbican: photo by Johan Persson
Hamlet, Barbican Hamlet, Barbican Lucy Brooks
To play Hamlet or not to play Hamlet? That is the question that will inevitably be asked of many young British actors, and 2015 is the year that Benedict Cumberbatch swaps Sherlock for Shakespeare's tragic hero. 


Hamlet, Barbican: Theatre tickets
Hamlet smashed records last summer as the fastest selling show in the history of London theatre. The online queues surpassed 30, 000 as the hoards of hopefuls that logged on at 10am-on-the-dot soon realised that it took forward planning, patience and plenty of luck to secure tickets. But if you missed out, hope is not lost...
How to get Hamlet day tickets at the Barbican
The Barbican will be released 30 £10 day tickets for each performance if are willing to turn up in person and brave the queues. The Barbican Centre Silk Street main entrance is open from 9am, and those at the front of the queue can purchase a maximum of two tickets at the advance ticket desk from 10:30am.


Want to see the action up close? Get front row tickets to see Cumberbatch's Hamlet on the silver screen via National Theatre Live. Click here for more information.

A new Hamlet: Benedict Cumberbatch's credentials...
The hottest actor in the world thanks to the storming success of Sherlock, his bumbling brand of charm, and his spectacular cheekbones, Cumberbatch appears to have the Midas touch. It is therefore unsurprising that, having mentioned in an interview with The Telegraph in 2012 that Hamlet was a role he had been “interested in for a long time”, the theatre bigwigs came knocking. This starry casting of Shakespeare’s most complex character follows a recent deluge of big name Hamlets: Jude Law, Rory Kinnear, David Tennant and Michael Sheen have all played the Dane in recent years. Cumberbatch is merely next in line.
We don’t doubt that Benedict Cumberbatch will be excellent. His Hamlet is likely to be more meditative than Kinnear’s, more mature than Tennant’s and subtler than Sheen’s. His soliloquies will no doubt be delivered with Branagh-esque elegance and he will command the chosen auditorium with his charisma. Despite his current role as Hollywood heartthrob, Cumberbatch has already proved his salt on stage with Danny Boyle’s gripping adapatation of Frankenstein for the National Theatre in 2011.
Hamlet tickets were a sellout, but we’re guessing that little of that will be due to people’s desire to grapple with one of Shakespeare’s longest and most difficult works; if David Tennant’s RSC production is anything to go by, a significant portion of the audience will comprise people slightly confused that Sherlock is speaking in iambic pentameter, and wondering where Martin Freeman is (recovering from his own stint playing Shakespeare, we predict). Get ready to brave the groupies. 


Sharing the spotlight with Benedict Cumberbatch: Hamlet cast
Despite the rumours that Hollywood actress Jessica Chastain would be acting alongside Cumberbatch as Ophelia, the casting favours experienced stage actors over movie stars. All eyes will be on actress Sian Brooke as she takes on the complex heroine. She's in familiar territory playing Shakespeare, having worked with the RSC, and is also a regular on the London stage with stints at the Almeida, Royal Court and Hampstead Theatre. Starring alongside Benedict Cumberbatch in this high profile show is sure to make Sian Brooke a household name. 


A stellar creative team: Hamlet director, designer and producer
The talent of a certain sharp-cheekboned actor is not the only thing to get us excited about the Barbican's Hamlet, 2015.
With 2014's Olivier for Best Director added to an already extensive list of accolades, Lyndsey Turner has helmed such theatrical triumphs as Posh and Chimerica, and is set to direct this adaptation of the Bard’s turn-of-the-17th-Century masterpiece.
She has recruited visionary, Olivier Award winning set designer Es Devlin, whose eclectic CV has seen her building an aesthetic adventure for the performances of popstars including Miley Cyrus and Kanye West, along with some of the most stunning sets seen on the stage (Chimerica, Almeida; The Nether, Royal Court, Light Shining in Buckinghamshire, National Theatre). This Hamlet will be produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, the tour de force behind the biggest blockbusters on both Broadway and the West End, including The Book of Mormon and Mark Rylance’s Twelfth Night and Richard III.



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What Hamlet, Barbican
Where Barbican Centre, Silk Street, London, EC2Y 8DS | MAP
Nearest tube Barbican (underground)
When 05 Aug 15 – 31 Oct 15, 7:00 PM – 10:00 PM
Price £10 - £62.50
Website Click here for more information



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  • What the critics say

    THE GUARDIAN

    "Cumberbatch is a good, personable Hamlet with a strong line in self-deflating irony, but that he is trapped inside an intellectual ragbag of a production by Lyndsey Turner that is full of half-baked ideas."

    Michael Billington

    THE TELEGRAPH

    "a blazing, five-star Hamlet trapped in a middling, three-star show."

    Dominic Cavendish

    THE NEW YORK TIMES

    "this “Hamlet” is never boring. It is also never emotionally moving"

    Ben Brantley

    THE EVENING STANDARD

    "Benedict Cumberbatch exudes charisma and intelligence in a production that favours style over substance"

    Henry Hitchings 

    Practical

    THE PLAY'S THE THING: HAMLET SPOILERS?

    The first night's over and Cumberbatch mania shows no sign of abating. First there's the controversy over early reviews from The Times and The Mail (two star and five star respectively), which breach the protocol of no critical rating until press night (25th August). Then there's fans' furore on Twitter over 'spoilers' -- presumably hints about the details of this particular production, rather than the 400 year old plot. 

    WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT HAMLET TICKETS

    Ticket purchases will be limited to six per household, across all performances – and photo ID of the booker will be mandatory for admission. This idea is that this will prevent tickets from being sold at inflated prices on resale websites. Because it will be so popular, the Barbican have warned that they cannot exchange tickets. 

    For those willing to brave the queues, there will be 30 day tickets released for each performance, costing just £10 each. Simply go to Barbican's Silk Street Main Entrance -- it opens at 9am, but there's likely to be queues far earlier -- and then those first in line can purchase a maximum of two tickets each at the advance sales desk from 10:30am. 

What members say

    Fantastic in many ways: Cumberbatch is, predictably brilliant and the set spectacular. However, many of the nuances and best bits of the play are underdeveloped, Read more

    Moya Stirrup

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Blockbuster

Benedict Cumberbatch

Shakespeare

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Day tickets

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