The Motive and the Cue | |
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Written by | Jack Thorne |
Directed by | Sam Mendes |
Date premiered | 21 April 2023 |
Place premiered | National Theatre London |
Original language | English |
Subject | History, Acting, Shakespeare |
Genre | Drama |
Setting | 1960s New York City |
The Motive and the Cue is a play written by Jack Thorne. The production, directed by Sam Mendes, premiered on 21 April 2023 at the National Theatre in London. The play revolves around the history behind the 1964 Broadway modern-dress production of William Shakespeare's Hamlet starring Richard Burton in a production directed by Sir John Gielgud. As rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel. [1] [2] The original cast includes Johnny Flynn as Burton, Mark Gatiss as Gielgud, and Tuppence Middleton as Elizabeth Taylor. [3]
Mendes decided to stage the play after reading Richard L. Sterne’s John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton and William Redfield’s Letters from an Actor, with Thorne joining to write the script hoping to return to theatre.
Mendes who previously collaborated with production designer Es Devlin on The Lehman Trilogy returns as a collaborator on this production. The production runs 2 hours and 40 minutes.
The play revolves around the dynamic and tense relationship between a young, enthusiastic Richard Burton and an aging Sir John Gielgud during a 1964 Broadway production of Hamlet .
Role | National Theatre [4] | West End [5] |
---|---|---|
2023 | ||
Richard Burton | Johnny Flynn | |
Sir John Gielgud | Mark Gatiss | |
Elizabeth Taylor | Tuppence Middleton | |
Hume Cronyn | Allan Corduner | |
George Voskovec | Ryan Ellsworth | |
William Redfield | Luke Norris | |
Jessica Levy | Aysha Kala | Elena Delia |
The play originated at the National Theatre, written by Jack Thorne, and directed by Sam Mendes, with previews opening on 21 April 2023.
Following the play's success at the National Theatre, the production transferred to the Noël Coward Theatre in London's West End from 9 December 2023 for a limited run until 23 March 2024. Flynn, Gatiss and Middleton reprised their roles as Burton, Gielgud and Taylor. [6]
Critical reception for the play has been mostly positive, in particular for the leading performance of Sir John Gielgud by Mark Gatiss. In The Independent , theatre critic Jessie Thompson declared, "It’s Gatiss, as Gielgud, who owns this show. He deserves all the superlatives for a performance of restrained, quiet dignity, laced with sharp wit." [7] The Evening Standard described the production as "elegant" and "a love letter to theatre". [8] The Telegraph's Dominic Cavendish hailed the play as "a witty, deft, touching evocation of a fascinating, fraught encounter that captures the mood of those times". [9] Arifa Akbar of The Guardian gave a mixed review, praising the performances but noting that "ultimately, this play-about-the-play leaves us wishing we had been there to see Burton in the real thing." [10]
Year | Award | Category | Nominee | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2024 | WhatsOnStage Awards [11] | Best New Play | Nominated | |
Best Direction | Sam Mendes | Nominated | ||
Best Casting Direction | Alastair Coomer & Naomi Downham | Nominated | ||
Laurence Olivier Awards [12] | Best New Play | Jack Thorne | Nominated | |
Best Actor | Mark Gatiss | Won | ||
Best Director | Sam Mendes | Nominated |
Richard Burton was a Welsh actor.
Sir Arthur John Gielgud, was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the British stage for much of the 20th century. A member of the Terry family theatrical dynasty, he gained his first paid acting work as a junior member of his cousin Phyllis Neilson-Terry's company in 1922. After studying at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (RADA), he worked in repertory theatre and in the West End before establishing himself at the Old Vic as an exponent of Shakespeare in 1929–31.
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Mark Gatiss is an English actor, comedian, screenwriter, director, producer and novelist. He is best known for his work in television acting in and co-creating shows with Steven Moffat. Gatiss has received several awards including a BAFTA TV Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, and two Laurence Olivier Awards.
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Richard Burton's Hamlet is a common name for both the Broadway production of William Shakespeare's tragedy that played from April 9 to August 8, 1964 at the Lunt-Fontanne Theatre, and for the filmed record of it that has been released theatrically and on home video.
William Henry Redfield was an American actor and author who appeared in many theatrical, film, radio, and television roles.
John Patrick Vivian Flynn is a British actor. He starred as Dylan Witter in the Channel 4 and Netflix television sitcom Lovesick and has also portrayed David Bowie in the 2020 film Stardust and a young Nicholas Winton in the 2023 film One Life.
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