Hamlet, Barbican

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.

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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.