Written by Jack Thorne and directed by Sam Mendes, The Motive and the Cue is inspired by the making of Richard Burton and Sir John Gielgud’s landmark Broadway production of Hamlet in 1964.
Offering a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity, The Motive and the Cue will play for a strictly limited run at the Noël Coward Theatre from 9 December until 23 March 2024.
As previously announced, following a sold-out run at the National Theatre, Johnny Flynn, Mark Gatiss and Tuppence Middleton will return to play the iconic roles of Richard Burton, John Gielgud and Elizabeth Taylor in this ‘thrilling rollercoaster of high drama’ (The Sunday Times).
Joining them in this ‘theatrical extravaganza’ (Evening Standard) is, Allan Corduner as Hume Cronyn, Sarah Woodward as Eileen Herlie, Rebecca Collingwood as Linda Marsh, Luke Norris as William Redfield, Laurence Ubong Williams as Hugh McHaffie, Elena Delia as Jessica Levy, Huw Parmenter as Clement Fowler, Aaron Anthony as Robert Milli, Adam Sina as Frederick Young, Ryan Ellsworth as George Voskovec, Daniel Krikler as Dillon Evans and Waiter, David Tarkenter as Alfred Drake, Kate Tydman as Christine Cooper, Mark Extance as Mick Burrows and Stephanie Siadatan as Susannah Mason.
1964: Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.
Mendes is joined by set designer, Es Devlin; costume designer, Katrina Lindsay; lighting designer, Jon Clark; composer, Benjamin Kwasi Burrell; sound designer, Paul Arditti with casting by Alastair Coomer CDG and Naomi Downham. West End director, Zoé Ford Burnett and associate director Yasmin Hafesji complete the creative team.
Assisted Performances:
BSL Performance: Saturday 3 February 2024, 2pm
Captioned Performances: Tuesday 20 February 2024, 7:30pm & Saturday 9 March 2024, 2pm
Audio Described: Thursday 29 February 2024, 7:30pm & Saturday 16 March 2024, 2pm
Running Time: 2 hours 40 minutes, including an interval
