Benedict Cumberbatch’s star turn in Hamlet began previews in London last night. He’ll be doing this play until October, and he hasn’t done a stitch of press for it so far. It’s sort of weird. Maybe he’s holding off on interviews until the play is out of previews? Perhaps. But the fans and the Cumberbitches are treating the previews like the play has already debuted/premiered, which it has. Cumberbitches waited in line for 15-20 hours just to get tickets. Seriously.
Anyway, these are some photos of Benedict and his wife Sophie Hunter leaving the Barbican Theatre last night after his first preview performance. There’s been a lot of nitpicking in the UK press that the theatre had announced that Benedict would not be doing the ever-gracious autograph-signing at the stage door post-performance – the Barbican announced that Benedict didn’t want to be swarmed by crazy fans, so he would not be leaving by the fan-friendly stage door or whatever. So… I guess the paparazzi managed to find him anyway. Sophie looks pretty (she has great skin), but it always seems like he’s way more into her than she is with him. Benedict also tried to kiss her in the back of the taxi (Uber?) but it looks like Sophie was more into smugging for the cameras.
As for the actual play… so far, the reviews are pretty good. Radio Times says that Benedict turns in a surprisingly funny Hamlet and while this isn’t a traditional staging, it’s very good.
Photos courtesy of WENN.
Let’s be honest, did he really need to do press? The build-up has been ridiculous without any input from him – the Guardian alone has published a disproportionate number of articles about him/it.
You’re right, plus like any other celebrity, he has a large fan base that’ll make sure he’s in the press.
Not all reviews have been good. The Times reporter didn’t like it and is now the target of much wrath and discussions about whether reporters should be allowed in prior to press night.
The play’s sold out, tho? It doesn’t matter when critics publish their articles, the tickets have flown off the shelves already.
Very true. And people who buy tickets to the previews, while they may not be getting the finished product, should be able to expect good performances from the cast. Especially when the production is dealing with an audience that may not have seen live theater before.
Musical performers and dancers don’t get a week or two of live performances before the press gets to review.
? musicians do quiet small gigs before tours to warm up. dancers do live rehearsals for big shows
tbh the times reporter was one of four and the only one who didnt care for it. that’s pretty good lol. my only issue with her was snobbery toward his fans.
yeah, they re annoying, but theater is for everyone
I don’t think either the Times or the Daily Fail, which raved about it, were very professional here. Both used blurry Twitter photos to boot.
It gets weirder when you’ve got her on the radio saying the Barbrican made a deal with a rival paper, which is why she reviewed a preview, and then she admitted she already decided it was shit before she went plus she doesn’t like his fans. Just an unprofessional mess. I’ll wait for press night reviews…
I know. Kate’s an aquaintance of mine and she’s always been supportive of my productions, but I can’t condone this. She’s always been a stickler for theatre etiquette. I just don’t understand it. Anyway Cumberbatch was a respected stage actor for years before he became famous. Surprised that doesn’t count for anything.
The TIMES absolutely dragged it in the dirt, calling it “a Hamlet for kids who grew up on ‘Moulin Rouge'” and I doubt they were referring to the 1950s masterpiece with the fabulous Jose Ferrer as Toulouse Lautrec. They were uncomplimentary about Cumberbatch’s performance, too, saying it had no subtlety. The DM doesn’t count – these kinds of stars in this kind of play don’t give a hoot what the DM says, it’s the classy broadsheets they want on their side, so I doubt they’re too happy this morning.
Full disclosure: I hate Shakespeare done like this (I don’t know why they don’t realize that I can’t see a guy in a leather jacket any day, but NOT a guy in a codpiece!) and I could have gotten tickets to this and decided not to, and I’m glad. And I always feel like I can see the wheels going around with Cumberbatch’s acting – he’s too self-aware. And I’m tired to death of the Ben and Sophie show.
Cackling at The Times calling BC unsubtle. I’ve always thought he is incredibly stilted in his acting, one of the worst hams in the current Brit Pack.
I know you’ll never get 100% unbiased reviews, but both the Times reporter and the Daily Mail laid their cards out beforehand a little too clearly for me. Don’t know about the positive Telegraph or Radio Times ones.
I’m with Kaye, I’ll wait until previews are done for press night. I suppose I should make my own judgment call really.
That Times reviewer was starting with the ‘fans = unwashed masses unworthy of Shakespeare’ shtick before she say the play. Looks like it’s the lede of her review as well. Nice.
Don’t think I’ve ever seen a full review of an unfinished production before.
Of course, I meant to say “I CAN see a guy in a leather jacket any day . . .”!
I’m not a big BC fan, but I gotta admit 90% of the full Times review was complaining about the staging/props, not the acting. It’s way more a jab at Es Devlin and Lindsey Turner than BC.
It does seem in poor form. Previews are full of anxious performers and creatives trying out different things. And it’s odd this critic apparently complained about his fans not knowing how to behave in a theater but then reviews a preview using a photo that shouldn’t have been taken.
Cumbercurls, sigh. I know it’s probably because she’s nervous in front of all those cameras and people but I can’t help but dislike Sophie a bit – she really does look smug… Having said that, I would be smug too.
It doesn’t matter what face she makes, though – if she’s smiling, she’s totally loving the attention, what a smug famewh-re and if she isn’t smiling, she’s a joyless, stuck up cow who obviously doesn’t love her husband etc. The woman can’t win with some people.
Exactly!
I totally agree, those pictures are completely without context (like, someone could have just said something funny that made her smirk, for example) I’m totally judging just by facial expression because I’m a jealous Cumberbitch, I’ll absolutely admit to that.
You know, she COULD try looking at him lovingly every once in a while. Some may still say it’s fake, but they will get shut down by many others. She could at least give it a whirl, she hasn’t tried that so far.
I think they both look really happy, and like you say, Sophie couldn’t win with the public no matter what she does. She looks super happy and pretty here and omg, the CUMBERCURLS!!
Oh, Timbuktu, so much QED…
She looks like she is in the one where you can just see her eyes, and he is leaning close to her.
Anyway, these are pap photos. Not a 24/7 documentary of every second of their lives or every facial expression they ever make to each other.
Oh, distended, so much wisdom and superiority.
Look, I’m not saying she doesn’t love him. I’m saying she doesn’t look like she loves him in most photos. Am I entitled to that opinion or does looking at pictures and seeing/not seeing something WITHOUT making far-fetching conclusions about their marriage automatically make you a crazy that others condescend to?
I’m fully aware that
1) we see split seconds of their life
2) we don’t know what is being said/done around them at that time
3) it’s hard to be natural in photos
4) it’s hard not to be annoyed in pap photos
But given that she is an actress who seems quite comfortable in the public eye and quite benefiting from it lately, I am having a very hard time believing that in a year together, filled with engagement, 2 vacations, many red carpet appearances and other highs, not once did a pap catch her actually looking at her husband with tenderness. We have many many photos of him looking at her that way, kissing her hand, leaning in to kiss her, etc., and in every single one she looks away and/or leans away. I’m sorry if I find that a little strange, I know it is absolute proof that I want BC for myself.
Thanks, hon, you’re spot on about my wisdom. The answer to your two part question is yes, you’re entitled, and no, you will give crazy vibes. You missed the irony of responding to a comment which said that she can’t win no matter the reaction, and promptly you provided illustrative material to that comment. Good job.
Seriously even hamsters tire of their little wheels. Not so some fans analyzing photos of these two.
@Timbuktu
ITA. They look so unnatural together that it sticks out. He is too tryhard and occasionally OTT with his show of affection towards her and the most she can muster is throwing her arm around his shoulders like a drunk frat brother. In all the photos she has a frozen look of mild aversion towards him like hes her annoying little cousin. Perhaps this is just the fallout of 2 weird people in a weird relationship but if this is what he likes, he has strange taste in women.
@distended
I didn’t miss the irony. I happen to disagree with “she can’t win” narrative.
Fans may be tireless in analyzing their photos, but fan criticizers are equally tireless in criticizing, both categories demonstrate amazing persistence, so I really don’t think your kind get to feel all smug and superior.
Much ado was made about “crazy” fans descending upon the Barbicon, yet clearly, things turned out quite ok, so do feel free to drop the crazy narrative any time you want.
Yeah, I agree with this. You could have hardly conceived a more fan-friendly partner for BC than Sophie. She’s age-appropriate, pretty and in shape but not otherworldly so (you could imagine knowing someone at work who looks like her), has her own quirky, non-threatening career, and they met through mutual friends outside of his industry. But yet people still tear into her, for why? It really seems like they’re grasping at straws. Smugness? Can you seriously imagine this dude with someone who wasn’t smug? Having the same odd and uncommon look as one another? Prince has been in relationships with almost exclusively women who look exactly like him (Vanity, anyone? He named her that because looking at her was like looking in a mirror) and nobody seems to hold it against him. That’s not really *normal*, but did anyone really think BC was normal? SMH.
Huh? I did not bring up the Barbican and fan reactions there, so you do not have a segue way. ” Your kind” also? What are you talking about? Listen, I don’t conceive the world as being made up of cliques.
@Alexis
But they met on set, how not in the industry? They met during this Tales whatever it was movie, no? I thought so. Besides, she is an actress (so called) turned director (so called), hardly out of his industry.
She looks perfectly warm, loving, affectionate towards him to me.
Funny how the only people to see this utter lack of warmth and love are BC stans who stalk any mention of his name on the Internet so they can spread hate about his wife. Not saying you’re lying but people see what they want to see.
If their behaviour was as off as what the stans perceive, someone else would have noticed it. It would be in the gossip publications, they constantly do ‘bad body language’ stuff.
Btw the fact that anyone who mentions anything remotely positive about her or their relationship, even if it’s literally one tweet claiming to have seen them in a restaurant or something, gets relentless abuse from stans, proves that the stans are very invested in only seeing what they’ve already decided: that it’s a fake or abusive or ‘wrong’ marriage somehow.
@distended
my obvious segway was that critics blow the “crazy” of fans way out of proportion, be it here, or when writing about the Barbican.
@Lol
Can you point out what looks warm and affectionate to you? I’m not being nasty, I’m honestly wondering how we’re seeing such different things. I see him looking at her, and her looking away, and not just in 1 shot, but in 4-5 consecutive shots… And it’s at least the second time I see it. How does affection manifest itself to you?
As for the rest, I’m not sure what you mean “someone else would have noticed it”. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of people who have, the fact that you choose to dismiss them all as “stans”, doesn’t make their opinions automatically less valid than yours. Who said you aren’t the one seeing things wrong? Must we wait for a publication to do something for it to be true? I mean, journalists have a vested interest in maintaining a certain relationship with celebrities, why would their opinions matter more?
As for abuse, I’m not on twitter, but from what I heard, people who tweet about them get lots of questions, not necessarily abuse. In any case, if a dude with a gun who kills kids is not representative of “responsible gun owners”, then a crazy fan harassing someone on Twitter is sure as heck not representative of everyone who may not think that Sophie looks affectionate in photos.
> As for abuse, I’m not on twitter, but from what I heard, people who tweet about them get lots of questions, not necessarily abuse
@Timbuktu. No, they get abuse and then those trolls discuss it on the hater sites. I saw screenshots on tumblr. So, lets not pretend it is all above board. It is most definitely not.
When you pick up your husband from work do you moon at him and snog in the taxi on the way home, assuming of course you are not a sixteen year old girl?Honestly this just says she doesnt put on a show for the cameras. Thats a good thing. And frankly if she was putting on a show, she would still be put through hell for it. Some people just cant be happy for others.
Bull’s-eye, Red. Personally I think these people are being ridiculous and I suspect deep down they know it, but they just keep going in a sort of Mean Girl hive behavior. Live and let live, eh?
I don’t mind the smugness – we’d all feel a bit of it in the same situation. I just can’t stand the “We’re the new Larry and Viv” atmosphere clinging to them, because they aren’t, and I really do hate how she so nakedly is using him to get a career she couldn’t get for herself. Not because I care about him but because I care about women still being seen to do that while so many others struggle for credit for attainments they work so hard for.
“The new Larry and Viv” has me cackling like a loon, thanks for that!
So did they exit by that stage door (after notices that he would not all week ) because they wanted the paps but not the fans?
Her career doesn’t seem to be any better now than before she started dating him though? Actually the opposite. She’s certainly more famous, but looks to me like she’s continuing to do small avant garde, non-commercial work, which by its nature is not big or high profile. She worked on the Broadway transfer of Enron which was a huge production and the original show was a massive success. So objectively her career is a lot ‘smaller’ now than before they became a couple. Probably because she’s intentionally choosing less conventional, less commercial work. I’ve no doubt a woman with the kind of celebrity she’s received from her marriage gets all kinds of offers, so the fact she’s only doing this type of job suggests she’s turning everything else down. It’s fortunate that her marriage has given her the financial ability to do so, but she clearly isn’t taking up the opportunities his name could give her. Besides ask any woman in the UK industry, having a baby is considered the kiss of death professionally.
She hasn’t done anything of note in years. And now she has 2 projects in a row. Why would she necessarily switch to mainstream commercial projects? Having numerous opportunities handed to you to do what you already know/like sounds like a pretty awesome career boost to me.
Commercial work, while paying more, also has its own drawbacks: rigorous schedules, long hours for long runs, etc. In many many ways, one-offs are a lot easier for a young Mom, and very very hard to find, so, again, she’s very lucky to have those jobs offered to her.
They look like brother and sister, really very similar looking.
There have been plenty of photos of them looking lovingly at each other. Its just that those pictures don’t get much play, imagine that? Then there are the people who take video and snip it down to mere seconds to show whatever hate they want to see. Keira turning her head is meant to show her throwing shade at Sophie.
She can’t win with some; which they’ll never admit to. She’s seen without the baby, she’s a bad mother. She goes to work, where is the baby?!! Did she take the baby all the way to Northern Ireland? Cuz babies shouldn’t travel to Northern Ireland, I’m guessing? They’re seen together with his family and its why did he make his elderly parents drive so far away (never mind the fact that it was close to their house).
Every tweet that mentions them and especially Sophie in a favorable light is met with a stinging barrage of questions and accusations. How could she work there when she’s too young to serve liquor? You can’t tell us the name of the baby? You’re were never there! You’re a PR plant hired by Sophie, Harvey or Princess Peach. Pictures or it didn’t happen.
You must have extra sensory perception to always show up to defend these two.
And read a lot of blogs if you know all this. Wow 🙂
Hopefully they do an NT Live type thing for one of the performances so i can watch it either at the cinema on a computer. Having been a guest on the Graham Norton show when he appeared with Harrison Ford – i would not want to go an see Hamlet with all the crazy fangirls ruining my enjoyment of the performance. I remember queuing to get into the GN taping and the women who were getting stressed about how they might not be able to get in or get close to the stage scared even me – granted i was getting stressed, but that was cause we had to wait over an hr to get in.
Thou i think the Guardian review wasn’t soo good – said it lacked subtlety, which is something that’s a bit hit and miss with him. He can do it well if its the right role but I’m biased as i saw Ben Wishaw as Hamlet years ago and he was sublime, he’s my benchmark for performances of the role.
You know what – these 2 are well suited, the both like to mugg for the camera.
They are doing NT Live. You should check where the closest one is to you. Many are already sold out.
They are , as far as I know, starting mid Oct showing it in select cinemas.
I’d love to hear some reviews from non biased people (either a lover or a hater of Cumbers). The fangirls appear to be gushing about him without any objectivity. I read they opened with the To be or not to Be speech, which is actually from Act 3 (if memory serves), so curious what people make of those kind of changes..
It is previews so they can and probably will make some changes
Also he did walk out the main stage door, just didn’t do autographs. In some of the DM pics you can see the signs behind on the wall saying he wont be doing it…..curious.
What I’m about to say is sadly sexist, but every time I read reviews of films and plays with people like Cumberbatch and Hiddleston and other male heartthrobs, I only trust reviews by men. In these situations, so many women are either fans or haters, that I don’t trust any of them with their opinion.
Theatreforum.com is mostly unbiased.
Ooh thanks ladies – will check it out.
I think the ND screen showing is slated for October 16th in the US.
I think that was the TIMES not the Guardian.
NT Live is on, and I need to get my ticket pronto.
Miss Jupitero, it is at the Coolidge AND Arts Emerson.
The screenings in my area are the weekend of Oct 14-15. Is that the same for the rest of the US? Mine won’t sell out so I was hoping for some CB reviews before I shell out 15 bucks for something I may regret.
NTLive screening dates (at least in the US) vary according to the venue. I live in DC and the NTLive screening of Hamlet at the Shakespeare Theater Company (which hosts most of them) isn’t until mid-December.
Here in Houston all the NTLive screenings are at exactly the same time – Oct. 15th, 7pm. Regardless of the theater chain.
The Seattle area theaters are all Oct 15 too – but I can find only one that is selling tickets now, the rest say to check back.
NT Live doesn’t always broadcast on the same day around here, it can really vary. I drove 50 miles to see Coriolanus on the first night, the other theaters here didn’t show it until about a month later. My favorite local theater didn’t show it at all, and it usually shows most of the NT Live performances and the Met opera.
10-15, upstate ny
all the tix are gone by me tho
Well if your seats sold out ladies, there’s plenty available in the Colorado Rockies. His Dirtbag fanbase is rather thin out here.
The price went up from $15 to $20 at the cinema!!
> Well if your seats sold out ladies, there’s plenty available in the Colorado Rockies. His Dirtbag fanbase is rather thin out here.
I go to Met Opera and various ballet broadcasts. It is embarrassing but there are only 5-6 people on a good day in the 500 seat auditorium.
I bought my ticket to Hamlet last week, they started selling 2 weeks ago. So far my seat is the only one booked )).
NT Live related question… we have “Everyman” coming here in a couple of weeks and “A View from a Bridge” coming a week later. I’m planning to see both. Has anyone else seen these productions?
Everyman has been getting good reviews.
I have heard nothing but rave reviews for “A View from a Bridge,” both from people who saw it in the theatre in London and someone who saw it locally via NT Live. I believ that it’s transferring to Broadway this winter or next spring.
I haven’t watched these plays but I’d like to. I heard only very good things about both. The Bridge is going to be shown on Broadway as well. Everyman. Is 4 hours of Ralph Fiennes and Bernard Shaw, I don’t see how that could ever go wrong.
Sophie looks cute, but I can’t help but notice the grampa attire and GIANT grease stain on Bendy, and he is on a best dressed list, Ah, wut?
Both the shirt and pants are stained.
I missed the pants stains. Good work, Detective Lilacflowers.
And the stain is on his knee – just want to clarify that I wasn’t examining any specific parts, just a general view.
He was on a best dressed list? Seriously?
Look back a couple of articles. And in the photo on that article, his bow tie is crooked.
Really off crooked, not just the slightly askew crooked to indicate a hand knotted bow.
He’s on his way home after a tiring performance, and a preview show at that. No shade on him if he’s dressed casually; that might be his comfiest outfit and he wasn’t expecting photographers. Now, if his press night/opening night outfit isn’t styled, then he deserves ALL the opprobrium, but I’ll lay off him for this outfit.
I don’t think he’s a best-dressed candidate, but aren’t those types of accolades all bought by PR?
He didn’t expect photographers on the first night of his show, outside the clearly marked stage door?
Yes, it’s all about which celebrity is getting the most press and PR. It’s never actually about the best dressed. I hate celebrity butt kissing.
No shade on him for dressing casually but couldn’t he at least have worn CLEAN clothes?
Yeah…although Cumby can wear the hell out of a tux, because its fitted well, he mostly wears the same sweatpants, baggy dad jeans, and tshirts otherwise. Not a ‘best dressed’ look by any means and lets NOT get into the strange getups his wife puts on. Neither one should be allowed to dress without adult supervision. Glad to see thier PRs working overtime to get them (over)exposure anyways…
I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dress as weirdly as Sophie does. You have to go out of your way to put those bizarre outfits together. So in this respect, they’re a good fit, because, as you say, neither of them can dress themselves properly.
> I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone dress as weirdly as Sophie does
I don’t agree. I call her look “European chick”. It is not weird to me, French and Germans dress similar.
Very typical for us, Europeans (I’m not German, more Central European) way of dressing, nothing bizarre about it. In fact, quite conservative and not daring enough to me. On the other hand, eclectic styling and bold combos are a bright side of Toronto’s everyday fashion scene too. I like the way people here go for putting together various pieces in a very European way.
It’s called bad taste. 🙂
He’s never won a best dressed award in his casual wear… only suits and tuxedos, which I’ll admit, the Otter can wear the hell out of those.
They look really cute and happy that’s all I got.
Yeah, I don’t get all the reading into their photos. It seems like maybe she’s just uncomfortable in front of the camera a little? I’ve always thought it would be so weird to try and behave naturally when you know people are staring at you and taking your picture. Maybe she’s still not quite used to it. They look cute together to me.
+1
+2
Isn’t she supposed to be an actress, having appeared in movies, television and videos, and a director? How in the world can she be uncomfortable in front of a camera?
Agreed!
That is what I think too – they both look very happy (and tired). I don’t get where people are getting the smugness and everything else vibes.
Yeah, now that we’re not being bombarded with the Oscar Campaign WFTery, I actually don’t mind seeing them in this snaps. She looks relaxed and happy (as does he). She must have figured out that her lips-closed smile looks more attractive than her mouth open – teeth showing smile which explains why that’s her default smile. That kind of smile makes can a lot of people look smug. Doesn’t mean she is.
If you go back to her pictures before they were an item, she smiled the same way. Yes I looked, because the haters were making a big deal about her no-teeth smile (chalked it up to smugness), so I Googled. It seems that is her smile. Still don’t think their relationship was for Oscar. Not when Oscar has no problem handing them out to child-rapists…and Allens that are Woody. Surely that sort wouldn’t hold it against anyone for impregnating their fiance.
She wasn’t his fiance when he impregnated her.
Of course it wasn’t for the Oscars. They seem alright to me. The only thing I can’t figure out is why he’s so thin. I know he’s doing a play, but he wasn’t when he acted in Frankenstein and it was a much more physical role. He looks like he’s on a bad diet or something. Seen in real life, he’s even thinner than he looks in pictures.
Stage promo isn’t quite the same hideous (but gossipworthy!) merry go round as film, so I think it’s fine he’s not doing much, if any, shilling.
Terrible bad form not to do stage door though.
Funny thing is….he did walk out the main stage door, hence the pictures. He just didnt do photos or autographs. It may have been just for the first night but it’s a strange choice after all the “he wont be doing it” announcements.
But he doesn’t mind get photographed by the press, never has – it’s the (shudder) fans and other assorted peasants that want to look, photograph, talk to, breathe the same air or make eye contact with him that fills him with dread.
>it’s the (shudder) fans and other assorted peasants that want to look, photograph, talk to, breathe the same air or make eye contact with him that fills him with dread
He is afraid of some of his fans. I don’t blame him. Some of his fans are not adequate. The same is true for many other stars designated as heartthrobs.
But he’s a special snowflake otter lizard! He caught a special octopus from a comet! They had an otter octopus baby! Isn’t that enough? He shouldn’t have to do stage door! He might have to interact with “the florals” if he did. That would be just dreadful.
🙂 laughing. Thanks lilac.
I thought children were off-limits, because that was harsh on the baby.
Oh gosh.
@Delorb, you are really, really, really reaching and no, that was not harsh on the baby at all.
Sarcasm is the lowest form of wit (and it doesn’t come across well in print).
Yes it is but they have said from the beginning that he’s not doing the stage door or autographs. But i can see why – he had a rough time of it when he did Frankenstein and so did Hiddles when he last did stage work.
I know when i saw Richard III with Martin Freeman he did stage door every night and was gracious to everyone in the queue which was quite large (mostly Sherlock/Hobbit fans).
Martin is just class. I know people who have worked closely with him and say he’s just really a nice, kind guy.
He didn’t do it every night. I went twice and both times he did not do stage door. The only actor who ALWAYS does stage door is David Tennant. He’s famous for it, did it even after his hernia op during his Hamlet run. He’s a real star.
As a long term theatre-goer, I just think it changes the whole ambience of the experience. And I’m one who would never frequent a stage door!
Don’t want to do it? Don’t do theatre, you silly little special snowflake. It’s not *that* difficult to get proper security when you have a sold out major theatre.
eh stage door is a bonus not a guarantee. if he had backed out of it after saying he would i’d get the complaints, but they were upfront
i wouldnt think the issue is security but the amount of time. stage doors aren’t meant to take hours and hours, yet in situations like this, they can. no one is doing it though which makes me think the barbrican was like ‘nope’.
also possible he’ll doing it during the run but the prior announcement will cut down on the crowd number and allow him to do it at will rather then by requirement
It doesn’t have to take hours and hours. The theater can control that.
yeah, by assigning tickets or whatever. but then other people are still going to show up. people will scalp stage door tickets lol. i couldn’t even guess how much security theyd need…his fans dont have the greatest track record lbr here
but like i said i heard the no stage door isn’t exclusive to bc, so it’s either an odd cast or the theater didnt find it feasible. it’s not worth the headache
Not judging his decision but fwiw the Barbican have excellent security and usually when they have a big name performing, they use metal barriers to set up an area for fans to queue in, for stage door autographs. David Tennant signed every night; there was one night he had to go back in because it was a mob scene, but otherwise it’s well controlled and fast.
Is stage door a British thing? Because I didn’t even know about it and it would never even occur to me to go and wait for an actor after a performance. I paid the money, I’ve seen the show, the contract is fulfilled.
No, it may be an European thing but definitely not only British. (I’m European and we do stage door) The thing is not everyone knows it’s an option but most people get told by someone even if they didn’t know first-second time in theatre. But I’ve also seen stage door done on Broadway so not an European thing either.
> No, it may be an European thing but definitely not only British. (I’m European and we do stage door) The thing is not everyone knows it’s an option but most people get told by someone even
Ah, I guess that explains it. I am pretty sure I’ve seen crowds around theater exits, but I always assumed it were enterprising fans trying to catch their favorite actor, not that it is some sort of an official thing.
I think the stage door thing is just another rung on his openly pretentious climb up the fame ladder.
The whole announcement thing makes a big deal out of it… why not just suck it up, and politely decline to take autographs on your way home? Smile and waive, say thank you, get in your car and go. It makes me think Ben thinks himself to be a big deal.
She’s pretentious too, so I’m thinking they are a better match than they were given credit for.
Success turns everyone’s head, eventually.
Um, because that would create a security issue?
It was announced before tickets when on sale because people had the right to know before they bought.
So every night he has to explain to fans that he won’t be doing it, rather than one announcement from a year ago when people were buying the tickets? That doesn’t make a lot of sense to me.
I heard the theater didn’t want to deal with the stage door. None of the cast is doing it.
That’s the smart way to go here. Hiddleston had all sorts of issues and understandably quit after a few weeks, and that theater held less people. I wouldn’t want to deal with the potential liability if I were the theater manager.
The stage door is next to the main entrance, so if he wanted to get out quickly on that side, that’s the way you’d go. There’s other entrances/exits but not on that street.
Hiddleston did it for most of the two month run. He and the rest of the cast were also sick with respiratory ailments through most of the run so the nights he or they skipped may have had to do with illness.
The Donmar is a VERY different proposition to this theatre. There’s nothing adequate security couldn’t address here. Not impressed with either Bendy or the Barbican. If you don’t want a stage door responsibility, don’t do stunt casting to rake in the cash.
He skipped about half of it. A security guard flat said it was the fans, and there was multiple stories of staff begging people to leave. A right mess.
Granted, the theater didn’t have enough security, but if you’ve got to run a stage door like it’s a military installation, don’t bother.
I have no problem personally with him not doing stage door, but its a little silly for him then to walk out said main stage door where there were paps and fans waiting if security was the issue, the fact he did it tonight means more will show up even to get a glimpse of him for future evenings even if he doesn’t stop. The theater has a few exit options and you plan accordingly.
My understanding of no stage door means “they wont be seen leaving so don’t bother” kind of thing. If he’s going to walk out that door each night then there will be crowds who wont care if they get an autograph or not.
FFS, your ticket is for the performance, not the stage door, sorry.
And if you’ve got to have a ton of security, how pleasant is that for anyone? Nor does it fix all the problems, stuff still happens even with enough security.
They made the right call here imo.
I can understand the smaller theatre’s saying no but this is the Barbican – its a large arts centre that is used to dealing with large groups/crowds that visit on a daily basis. Me thinks this is the special snowflake being a bit difficult – he’s been distancing himself from his fans for a while, this is just the latest. After all he’s an Oscar nominee and CBE recipient. He’ll be holidaying on Mustique with the Lazybridges soon.
On another note; BCoop was apparently very good with the fans at his The Elephant Man show in London recently. Bendy take note and show some graciousness to the people who helped your success.
And the stage door is not just about getting autographs and photos with ur internet bf, its also an opportunity to thank the cast personally for their performance and to have the chance to get advice/tips etc.. I’ve been to many smaller performances with unknowns and have seen drama students wait at the stage door to talk shop with the professionals.
Not FFS at all. I’m fed up with heart throb casting as it is, but it’s done to put bums on seats. Ok. Fair enough. But the stage door is a particular feature of theatre in London. If we’re insisting on silly fandom casting all the time, then the security will have to adapt. Otherwise, let’s just have a nice Hamlet with a respected stage actor where there won’t be extra security costs.
The Barbican wants the profit from Bendy but it doesn’t want the associated costs.
Still not impressed.
Doesn’t explain the rest of the cast not doing it, if what I read here is correct, Betti. The theater is involved somehow.
I personally see it being a disaster tho.
Stage door is not just a London feature. We do it on Broadway too.
Just a little perspective, some theaters are shying away from it here with bigger names because of fear of legal liability. We’re responsible for the safety of the actor and the fans and passersby. Technically, if we have enough security, we should be safe, yet there’s no way of knowing whether a court will agree with what we believed was proper.
Unsure about UK laws, but being on the wrong end of a lawsuit here can end a theater, even a big one.
Sigh, mobile won’t let me edit, but I should have mentioned he may end up doing it during the ran anyway. I’ve seen that as well.
AnnieK – we’re certainly not as litigious here, so civil suits would be unlikely. The theatre could get into regulatory trouble with public safety authorities, however. Even so, I think if theatres are going hell-for-leather for star casting (where star means celebrity with fandom, not highly respected theatre actor) so that they can make more money, then it’s incumbent on them to absorb the extra costs incurred, rather than just saying, “No, we want ALL the cash so we’re just going to change the whole theatre-going experience. Tough.”
Not a big bendy fan but I think it’s a bit unfair to characterise the situation as heartthrob casting for the fandom – bendy, tom, David tennant etc are all well respected stage actors- and I don’t see why they should give up the stage because they’ve been successful elsewhere. B coop was not to my knowledge as well established in theatre work but Elephant man was an excellent performance. It’s not like it’s Ashton Kutcher in Titus Andronicus.
But can we petition someone to cast Ashton Kutcher as Titus Adronicus? I find I have overabundance of snark and disdain and no where to channel it. Failing that, how about Amber Heard as Medea? Or maybe Matthew McConaughey as King Lear or Shia whathisname as Willy Loman… the mind boggles at the possibilities.
Is Cumberbatch the biggest star ever to do a play? Because it almost sounds like it. Is there other stars on Broadway or West End ever not grace their present at the Stage door because he/she is too huge and has too many fans to handle? Genuinely wants to know if there’s any precedent.
If he does stage door at the beginning, and then seeing it getting out of hand and stop. That way, it’s easier to accept. The way it is now, that he won’t do it because he or them think it will be out of hand because he is a huge star. That kind of a bit too much. That’s only my opinion.
Someone else mentioned this below, Anon222, but it’s less about fame and more about fanbase. His last stage door went famously bad, people screaming at and pushing both him & Miller.
This theater has had problems in the past because it is, unfortunately, smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Would not surprise me if the London police advised against it.
Someone else mentioned this below, Anon222, but it’s less about fame and more about fanbase.
This theater has had problems in the past because it is, unfortunately, smack in the middle of a residential neighborhood. Would not surprise me if the London police advised against it.
The stage door thing is probably 50/50 on whether it was his decision or the Barbican’s. I went to the stage door at, like, the fourth preview of Frankenstein and he was already grumpy and fed up with it. It’s never seemed to me like he enjoys interacting with fans. That’s not an insult against him or anything; he doesn’t HAVE to be smiles and sunshine for everybody he meets, 24/7. He just never acts like he loves that side of it. He treats talking and signing autographs and having photos taken like a big, irritating chore and has near enough said as much. He was also witness to the Hiddleston carnage at Coriolanus; wasn’t he with Hiddles when some people followed him down the street?
Also the Barbican Estate is a residential area. Hundreds of flats surround the Barbican centre itself and there are laws about noise levels in residential areas in London after certain times at night. Perhaps the Barbican are enforcing this so as not to upset residents if there’s any noise or disruption? They won’t want lots of people hanging around all night.
Again, I say this is probably a joint decision, because David Tennant did the stage door for Richard II (though I would argue BC is probably more internet popular now)…
He’s hit or miss, I’ve heard. Sometimes he loves it, sometimes he doesn’t. But he doesn’t scream in people’s faces (I saw Stallone and Carrey both do this in NYC, hilarious for me but not the fans!), so he’s average to me.
Also heard the Frankenstein door was a horrible mess, security issues.
Tennant started off strong with the stage door but then it petered off. They were very well organized; however, there was some problems mid-run. It’s good until you get a rowdy crowd!
It is correct none of the cast is doing stage door, no reason offered.
Actually Tennant did the stage door for every single performance of Richard II, bar two when he was ill. It didn’t “peter off” at all.
it did in terms of size with tennat, l think. it’s been awhile but i want to say they started trying to trim the crowd size down and then even tried moving the stage door thing to another door
dont think that was because of tennat tho,, it was from resident complaints. they’re in a residential area, they’ve had problems with police and such during play runs in the past
J – I worked on RII and that simply never happened. The size of the crowd naturally fluctuated due to weather and where we were in the run, but no one at the Barbican or us at the RSC ever made any attempt to thin the crowd or to move things to another door (the latter is not even possible, the stage door is where the barriers are). The last few performances had some of the largest stage door crowds. I’m not aware of any noise complaints made to the Barbican, but if there had been any we’d have pulled stage door entirely (which of course did not happen).
im not talking rsc, just the barb. that’s my understanding from some fans who went, there’s still stories floating around out there. just checked a bit to make sure im not losing it lol. maybe they dealt with overzealous security?
im just guessing on why they did what they did tho, hence “think”. the barbrican’s got a thing right on their website about issues with residents and cops. i can’t imagine those people were thrilled with huge crowds each night.
Also: if they allowed it, they’d have to hire more staff and security, pay them to stay later, worry about barrier placement, possibly take out insurance, deal with rubbish being left behind by people at the door…lots to consider and plan and it’s just easier to issue a ‘no stage door at all’ rule.
Plus they must want to keep their staff safe and happy? Imagine some poor part-time stage door worker or usher getting grief because they’ve had to whisk Benedict away or tell everyone that he’s not coming to the door tonight.
He did say about a year ago that he wouldn’t be doing it, though I don’t recall a proper announcement or anything like that. I wonder if it was also because they knew a lot of people could or would go to the Barbican to just see him and not the play (also there are people coming from other countries and it would waste their time and money), and they didn’t want crowds of people who didn’t see the play hanging around the stage door just to meet him. I don’t mean that in a snobbish way – like, how dare uncultured non-theatre-goers want to meet the lead actor! – I mean that along with the, let’s say, 100 people who were in the audience that decided to go to the stage door, there would also potentially be another 50 who’d just shown up and would create more hassle. That is exactly what happened at Coriolanus – along with audience members, the stage door crowd had masses of people who’d just come to the Donmar to meet Tom. The security guard created two queues each night: one for people who had been in the audience (we had to show him our tickets), and one for people who hadn’t. The idea was that everyone with a play ticket could meet him, and the people in the second queue weren’t guaranteed the chance (i.e. the guard may decide that Tom had had enough and would end it for the night). Two girls from the non-audience queue pushed in front of me and my friend and when I asked them why they did that, they both burst into tears…
Stage door at the Barbican is quite far from the residential area. It’s deserted, just offices which are closed at night. I would have imagined West End theatres to have bigger issues with crowd and noise. I think it’s BC who doesn’t like interacting with fans. Last night he came out because the paps were there and he knew it.
Hodgkiss is correct. The Barbrican Center, which the theater is in, has three residential towers. It’s literally on top of the residents.
I know there are residents, but not where stage door is located. The Barbican centre is huge. Part of it is near the Museum of London.
The very special snowflake doesn’t like doing stage door, even though it is what one does, so the very special snowflake won’t do stage door and none of the other actors can do it either so he won’t look bad and his fans will blame it on theater management
That’s a great over-estimation of his influence. Most of that cast are seasoned, solid performers, not newbies. Doing stage door would be their and/or the theater’s decision, independent of Cumberbatch.
Point blank is that Sixer is right on the money. There’s zero pros for the theater allowing it in this case but expensive cons.
That is completely correct, Lilac.
I could buy BC not wanting to do it, but not the entire cast. And I don’t think any one actor is pushing around Hinds or Friedman or such a big theater. Too far-fetched.
Looks like the theater’s decision to me, for financial reasons. I doubt he fought it or really cared tho.
Dunno. Do know a theater employee told some fan months ago they probably wouldn’t be accepting gifts because the theater did not want to hire anymore extra staff.
You people are so naive. The Barbican had no problems with the massive crowds for Tennant, but would prevent Ciaran Hinds from signing a few autographs for security reasons? Yeah, right.
Besides, the theatre is not gonna decide if an actor will or won’t do stage door. It’s up to them. Usually. In this case, up to BC. 🙂
Depends. How much did Tennat’s stage door end up costing them financially? Have they done one like that since? I am hearing they were not hot on the stage door early on, no reason as of yet.
I do think it’s a bit naive to think BC not wanting to do it would stop the other actors. He’s just not that important.
Whether or not there’s a stage door does depend, in part, on the theater. It’s their property, they’re liable for problems and the cost.
Personally, I don’t get the stage door thing.
My two unpopular cents: if a lot of hassle and security is involved, it shouldn’t be done. It’s not worth jeopardizing any one person or wasting resources for the few guarded seconds each person would get with the actor. Security is no guarantee, especially with a bigger crowd.
Now, is he really not going to do it? Unknown. Sometimes they say no off the bat so there are no expectations at time of ticket sale, but end up doing it during the run once they’re more comfortable and security’s got a rhythm going.
They don’t use massive security as far as I can tell. When Tennant came out, no one was there.
The Donmar has one security guard, the Old Vic for Armitage had one at the end, but at the beginning when I went there was no one there.
Maybe staff is inside manning stage door (just in case guests come in to visit, etc), but not real security.
In London, there is a long stage door tradition and it’s usually quite civilised.
Besides, they could have just said: we’ll do it, but at the first sign of craziness, we’ll stop. It’s always a good deterrent 🙂
I just think they did not want to do it, because they didn’t, full stop.
Maybe he just wants to avoid the nutjobs that Hiddleston had to put up with.
I may have called it, he was walking around thanking all the people by the door today, same for some of the cast. Testing the waters.
You security people may be right. David Lister of the Independent said he suspects it’s an overprotective move from the theater. They have gotten jumpy, they cancelled that Jam Fest last year because they thought something might happen even though there was no real threat.
If people continue to be cool, I wouldn’t be surprised if they start randomly doing the stage door.
I’m always sceptical when theatres change the tone of the plays. I once saw a funny-ish version of Hamlet and hated it. That one had really stupid humour (f.e. Hamlet had a bulge, like a hardon, in his pants until the monologue, when he pulled it out to show it’s a balloon). I’m interested to see this BC version, I hope the humour is subtle and intelligently done, not just funny voices and trippings.
I have been out of cumbernews for weeks now, is SH pregnant again? Hamlet seems to be an interesting interpretation. I would not mind seeing it at all. Lindsey Turner is a interesting director.
That’s funny, I thought the same! But then I remembered she just had the baby, so it does seem a little unlikely.
On another note, I really like her shoes.
I like her shoes too. Hey, it happens people get pregnant right away sometimes after having a baby. You never know, they might want their children back to back. They are not that young anymore.
So true, chantal. I know a couple of ladies who were at it again straight after giving birth. In the hospital bed. Both had babies within 10 months of the previous one… I don’t know if that’s “Ouch” or “eeew”… 🍼
Irish twins!
She wears great shoes.
She wore amazing shoes to the Oscars and I’ve been dying to know what they are.
If I was him, I wouldn’t want a repeat of the fandom insanity that he had to deal with when he did Frankenstein either. It is one thing to wait around for an autograph, it is another to swarm the object of your desire obsessively and then try to follow him home.
I do love Hamlet, but I think I would rather see him take a turn in Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead-the bit he did for the anniversary of the NT was great.
Add me to those appreciative of the return of the cumbercurls. His natural gingery goodness always looks better when he isn’t trying to straighten and slick it back.
Good for him for not doing stage door signings. I know it will piss people off but it would have been a disaster. Some of those ladies are not entirely sane.
Why would he do a lot of press? The run’s a guaranteed sell out. Always great to see theatre succeed, whatever the reason.
There was about as much press as I expected prior to opening – a few photos from rehearsals, etc. The main push usually comes on press night, which is in a few weeks. Don’t most of the papers and theatre reporters wait until the play ‘gels’ before reviewing? Even the sold out shows get reviewed, if only to make the rest of us envious we couldn’t get tickets.
I’m gonna be rude and just say I wish SH would do something with her hair. It looks gross.
What’s wrong with her hair? It looks clean.
I dont care for her, but she looks good in her natural state. She looks aged in hard makeup, like at the Oscars.
I don’t see why they couldn’t organize a controlled stage door where a select few tickets get a signing or something – most actors, no matter how famous do them, he’s not the freaking Beatles! I saw David Tennant in Hamlet, I didn’t do the stage door because I’m shy as f*ck but I did see it and he had a pretty massive crowd and they managed to keep it civil/not out of control.
Sophie does look smug as all get out, maybe she just has resting smug face?!
they still might, i was just saying up above a prior announcement keeps the door more clear and gives them flexibility while avoiding disappointment
Didn’t Hiddleston have a tasty experience with stage door? Something about someone planning a party for him and ambushing him or something? I’d avoid that if it were me.
that was cumberbatch who was ambushed during frankenstein
Hmm Bradley Cooper manages to sign autographs at the stage door every day in London and also in NY for the Elephant Man. Why can’t Cumberbatch? He’s less famous than Cooper.
It’s not about fame but fan behavior patterns when it comes to the stage door.
If managed properly by the venue in a controlled way (i.e. additional security) then it’s usually ok. Its when there is chaos and free reign that the problems happen. I understand that with Hiddles there was no controlled environment for that to happen so people were getting over excited and out of control. There will always be a few nutbars and silly girls.
I was there one night and despite the massive crowd everything was relaxed. And Mark Gatiss was there too 🙂 I think people pick one night of madness and turn it into a pattern. 🙂
The Elephant Man stage door looked will organized to me, and there crowds every night – I was lurking on social media to see how it went. That one had the potential to go very wrong too – famous actor, venue in a prime tourist area, well-publicized etc. but it looked like it was well planned and fans were well behaved. It can be done.
In the UK Cumberbatch seems to be more famous than Cooper, and Cooper doesn’t have such an involved fandom. I would say out of the American actors you’d have to go with Brad Pitt, for example. If Brad Pitt was on Boradway, or Christian Bale and they did a stage door, how would that work out?
I don’t know but Zach Braff did a play here in London a few years ago and the stage door was INSANE. I could barely get past the queue to get to the station.
Bradley Cooper did a stage door on Broadway too. It can be done. He’s definitely more famous than Cumberbatch in the UK but perhaps he doesn’t have same type of fervent fandom.
Cooper is more famous, but he doesn’t have anything like the insane fandom Cumberbatch does.
I hope for his sake he doesn’t like her more than she likes him because we all have seen in the past few days how that has worked out with Jennifer Garner and Gwen Stefani.
Dsmn, he looks good. Getting back to work has been great for him. I just wish he’d lose that wet blanket of a ‘wife’.
Wow! Married 6 months and you want him to ditch her? Um…okay….
Eeew, it’s so awful, how they look like siblings.
My question is do they know they look like that? I am an only child so no idea what my siblings would look like. Maybe the same for him!
I have 2 kids, and they don’t look like siblings )). Completely different personalities, and faces.
I would suggest that she is maybe one of those people who doesn’t have “Resting BitchFace” — instead, she is stuck with a form of “Resting I Got A Pony and You Didn’t” face. See: GOOP.
Yes she does have the same resting b!tch face as Goop. i.e my sh!t smells like Unicorn dew, does yours?
This is one of the most hilarious comments of the week! Smug marrieds methinks like Bridget Jones said!
🙂 Lol, Betti, perfect, that’s IT!
@Andrea — haha, yes! I forgot about that, love it!
Her broad smile looks kinda scary, she has Gary Busey sized veneers and the effect is a little much. So perhaps this is her best approximation of a smile without terrorizing everyone.
So, the reviews are bad? Does it mean BC is going down?
No, the reviews have been very good. It’s the fact they’re reviewing it before opening night at all people are complaining about.
The Times gave it 2 stars. How is it very good?
They’re typically not supposed to review until press nite, so the early ‘reviews’ are like reviwing a novel’s 1st draft. The author of the Times review admitted it was a political stunt to ‘get back’ at another publication for getting early access. The Barbican has a lot of money riding on this, so I am not surprised they are carefully controlling what press gets what. They cant afford not to but it colors the coverage.
So, I’m not a huge theater goer, perhaps that’s why I’ve never heard of “previews”. They make sense, but I always figured those were free/small, done in front of friends/colleagues or for free in some small venues for a good cause.
It just seems weird to open an event to the public, sell it for a full price, and call it a “preview” and expect no reviews from the critics after the first night. Seriously, they have a 3-months run, and 3 weeks of that are “previews”, yet people are charged the full price?
I understand tweaking the play along the way, but to demand no reviews until they are done tweaking seems strange to me. Apparently, it’s common, is that a UK tradition, or same thing goes for the US?
Yes, we have previews in the US. Sometimes the tickets are a little bit cheaper (like $10 or so, not a major difference), sometimes not. Despite weeks or months of rehearsals, the director and cast need the reaction of a general audience to test out what lines — or delivery of them — hit or fall flat, etc, and then tweak them a bit. Personally, I always try to aim for the middle of a play’s run when buying tickets. I figure by then all the “problems” will have been fixed and the cast will have settled into their respective roles, but not yet grown tired of them (not that I’ve ever heard an actor state that they get sick of a role, esp. In a limited run, as opposed to something that stays on Broadway or is touring for a year+, but I figure it must happen). That being said first performance, opening night, and closing nights do have a special energy.
The American Repertory Theater here in Boston/Cambridge does a preview for some, but not all, of its productions, usually if it a world premiere of a play. Tickets are usually considerably less. However, the Huntington Repertory here usually doesn’t but press night is usually in the second week
Lilac flowers, but isn’t any performance before the press night/opening night considered a preview, even if not specifically labeled as such? Genuinely curious as that was always my interpretation.
My understanding of “preview” from those I have attended, is that the production itself is not yet in its final form because the director may still change something if the play’s pacing is off or if a line doesn’t work, but the performances of the cast should have moved to the “this is it” stage. And I expect to pay less for a preview.
It depends, from my experience. Casts are usually quite nervous on the initial preview week. Acting is often tweaked, especially in terms of delivery. A long preview like this allows for a lot of adjustments.
But if we’re talking about the Times, she had a single, easy to fix directive for the lead–tone it down a bit in the first half. The majority of her review is disdain for the sets, props, fans etc. That is not so easy to fix.
Prices are sometimes less or the same as the regular run. Ticket buyers are informed beforehand the piece is incomplete.
Previews are a standard part of a run (I’m in the US), but I’ve never seen them go 3 weeks, I want to say a few days of previews or at most a week is the usual. I’ve gone to a few previews in the past, mostly at smaller regional theaters – I can’t remember now if I paid full price. I want to say no but the price difference was not that much. Most were so seamless you couldn’t tell the difference (at least I couldn’t), but there’s usually a disclaimer saying the production may not be fully cooked and not to expect perfection.
Many times a big new production headed for a long run on Broadway will do longer test runs, in which case they usually pick a smaller city first so they can try different things in front of an audience without the pressure of NY audience or theater critics .
Three weeks seems like a long time, but then again, if the tickets were considerably cheaper, it’s a great way for those who are usually priced out of theatre to get to enjoy a live production. If I was a poor, struggling theatre lover, I’d jump on one of those not-fully-cooked shows.
Thank you, ladies! Literally never heard of it. I guess the outrage over journalists breaking the “code” is justified then, it’s not just some obscure thing Barbican demanded.
It looks like the Times review is getting more attention than his performance right now! If it’s true what the journalist said about the Barbican doing an access for a good review deal then that’s shocking. Anyone know anything more about that?
No legs as far as I’ve gathered. They heard a rumor of a deal is the jist of what she said, but no paper appears to have had special access.
It was the Daily Mail. As per usual.
You’ve got to stop reading those skeptic blogs. The Mail got no more access than anyone else, and that “review” wasn’t even from a critic. Had something like what is suggested above actually happened, the Times would not have sat on it. That’s a huge story to not bother running.
My guess is she was speaking of the common, acceptable practice of “We’ve give you access in exchange for a few puff pieces” so people understood her boss made her review it because they were upset they didn’t get the rumored offer.
This access will not be pap shots, that’s laughable, but maybe some first interviews and things of that nature.
I have actually listened to the radio programme where Ms Maltby says clearly they (The Times) were aware the Barbican had given access to another paper. Since the only other paper who reviewed it was (at the time) the DM, 2+2=4
Nothing to do with whatever blogs you are talking about. I can think with my own head 🙂
Who goes to a Daily Fail celebrity columnist for theater cred? And yeah, KT, the Times has this big theater scandal but we don’t hear a word until some critic is trying to cover her ass? Come on now lol
I have as well, hermia. Favorable press does not equal review. Usually, that’s empty hype pieces. Nor did the Fail actually review it, but that’s another matter. You’re also incorrect, as Serena Davies of the Telegraph published before the Fail.
I’ll reiterate Times would not ignore a huge story, and the Mail had no special access, which wouldn’t have been a crime on its own anyway. They didn’t even have a review ready.
@KT The Telegraph did not give a real review, they just sort of stood on the fence (too early to tell, will get better, etc) The Mail gave a 5 stars one. The moment you attach stars to a piece about a play, it is perceived as a review by people who read it. Which is why many actors have intervened (Sam West one of them) slamming these papers for reviewing before press night.
I am not saying the DM had a deal, but it may have been perceived as if they did.
the telegraph didn’t do a full review because it was a preview
the mail being the last to post kinda screams “no deal” lol. they would have had it prepped.
look tbh i think the times journo was talking about exclusivity, not reviews. both the fail and the telegraph have run a mix of positive and negative coverage anyway. like i think she was trying to explain why she’d done what she did using the my bosses made me do it defense
The DM has been gushing about BC for a while now, which is why everybody is a tad suspicious. That’s my take on it. And by the way, in the age of social media they should give up this preview thingy. No one is waiting 3 weeks to read a review, when you can find loads online and better written too.
lol, no, it depends on the author. the mail was the one that wrote that article a few days ago about how he’s screwed if he can’t nail hamlet
papers like the mail, and i use that word loosely, write for clicks. so if positive spins bring a lot of traffic, and it does because of those skeptic nutwads, they will keep doing it
From what I understand, the reviews are glowing just like everything else that BC does. He can do know wrong don’t cha know ;).
I read a fan review that said the play started with the “To be or not be” monologue. Hamlet’s not my favorite play so not 100% sure but doesn’t that bit come in pretty far along in the play? Did they move it or just cut everything before it? I’m all for trimming down Shakespeare – sometimes he needs a good haircut to keep it relevant and interesting, but I’m not sure I’m down with doing something as drastic as moving that entire speech to the very beginning. Without the proper context it just becomes “Famous Hamlet Speech No 2” and would lose some of its emotional impact.
That bad Times review that is making rounds complained about this. The critic didn’t like that they reshuffled of the scenes, not just this one apparently. Yes, to be or not be is at the start, according to the review.
I am on a fence until I see it. Every Hamlet is different, we have it done over and over, it would be boring to see the same thing. It doesn’t mean different is bad. Some might like it some might not.
Maybe they felt they wanted to move this speech up to make the most impact right at the start.
They have made other changes which can be perceived as grating to some. But I dislike how Ms Maltby has been accused of cultural snobbery, just because she happens to take issue with some of those. Also, one can like his acting, but maybe find it a little over the top at times. I loved the way he played it, but it is true that sometimes I wished he’d just calm down and simply allowed himself to “be” Hamlet, if you see what I mean. I will see it again in September, I’m confident he will have toned it down a notch by then 🙂
It seems the DM guy (Baz something,) is laying into The Times for morality reasons. The irony.
I thought Maltby was getting hit with the cultural snobbery thing because she was made a “ew” comment about his fans on Twitter and then referred to them as children in her review.
She has a point, going from some of the comments referring to fans who ambushed BC after Frankenstein, or some who (I have heard) stalked him and turned up outside his house. You don’t have to be a snob to think this is crazy 🙂
She wasn’t referring to them as crazy, at least not in the review. She’s insinuating they’re too immature and/or stupid to understand Hamlet as it is.
I’m with you, Dara. I’m reserving judgment until I see it but I’m deeply sceptical of this approach. Hamlet is just grieving at the start, fairly normally. Then he sees the ghost and begins his downward spiral. It’s going to be very odd to see him suicidal at the very beginning.
@Tina, that was my thought too. I’m hardly a Shakespeare purist or elitist, I like when productions take some risks (it gets stale otherwise) or make an effort to make it more relevant for modern audiences, but I do get a little twitchy when they mess with the dialogue too much. I can’t quite figure their reasoning for moving that particular speech to the very beginning.
Damn, I was on the fence before about going to the trouble and expense for a play I don’t usually enjoy starring an actor I also don’t usually enjoy, but then I read this article from Radio Times http://www.radiotimes.com/news/2015-08-06/hamlet-first-look-not-what-we-were-expecting-from-benedict-cumberbatch—but-only-he-could-pull-it-off and now I’m actually looking forward to seeing it.
I actually loved the play, but after all this brown nosing from most papers, I’m starting to feel like the Times critic.
Give it a rest with the superlatives! Especially because the real stars are Ed Devlin (set design) and Lyndsey Turner (the director).
The acting is fine, but nothing out of this world.
@Dara, thanks for that article, it gives me hope. And @hermia, heh. I suspect the hype will reach a fever pitch with reviews on 25 Aug and then die down.
It’s actually Es Devlin, made a mistake and couldn’t correct it any longer. Give to Caesar what belongs to Caesar 🙂
Oh dear. I have NTL tickets for this and didn’t realise it was a modern take… :/
I just got mine, too. I’m still excited: I like the opportunity to make up my own mind, and it’s so reasonably priced, compared to Barbican tickets…
Oh I’m pretty open minded. I just… hmmmm…
Aww, they look so sweet together.
are we SURE they arent related. it is eery to me. they look so twinsified i think.
Now he works with genuine successful stage director Lyndsey Turner and genuine successful cutting edge artist Es Devlin.
His wife introduces herself as “a successful stage director and avant-garde performer “. Do you know her masterpiece?
All members of the company are talented actors. They are hard workers very much.
His wife introduces herself as “marvelous singer and magnificent actresses”. Anyone knows her masterpiece?
Most staff of the company knows that She plagiarized article about Beckett from another person.
Is it like Hell to stay there for her?
Oh! At last she smirking in front of her favorite pap’s camera! Looks so happy.
She did what?
SHE’S PREGNANT!
Agreed! She is totally pregnant again. I knew it from what she was wearing in these photos. Oh goodness…all the craziness is going to start all over again. Mind you, it never really went away the first time did it.
No. She’s just trolling the Cumberbitches.
She *supposedly* just gave birth like 7 weeks ago? Even if she she got pregnant the next day she wouldn’t look 4 months. Not after she looked very much like she lost all the weight not more than 3 weeks ago.
No way!
I mean, I’m saying it completely irrespective of who they are! If a friend who had a baby in June was pregnant again in August, I’d be very taken aback, unless it was a huge oopsie, but then again… 🙂
Pretty sure the first one was a huge oopsie.
She has really nice skin…thats all i got
And just like that no one cares about the baby’s name. Or did I miss it?
I care! I’ve decided to go with Oscar Olivier Percival Seely Cumberbatch until confirmed otherwise. I’ve already sent my order off the local embroiderer to have onesies done up with monogrammed initials. I had planned on gifting them to the Otter at the Barbican stage door, but now am forced to find an alternate plan.
Didn’t people say that all births have to be registered within 6 weeks, and that after that, they become public record, accessible online? It’s been more than 6 weeks even since they announced the birth, did anyone try searching?
@Timbuktu, sorry, but you have gone through all the haters ( sorry skeptics you call yourselves, right?) talking points already today.
Yes, I am sure the birth has been registered but no these records are not available online to anyone, only after 75 years. Until then you can pay for them and get copies if you can provide relevant information about the birth and the parents.
Are you not tired of the same old same old. Stop hating.
Posted on wrong thread by accident. It’s too hot here tonight.
@EN,
LOL They always show their hands at some point don’t they? Did you read the blog by a hater who is actually in London to see the play? Yep. She hates Benedict so much that she bought tickets to the first show. She was worried that they would stop her going in. Apparently they were more gracious to her than she’s ever been to Sophie. A point that didn’t occur to her, natch.
I don’t think her being a hater would stop her from going to the play (as long as you have bought a ticket and have an ID you can be anything but you can still go in).
@Delorb, “they” would be the ushers at the theater who probably do not keep track of “hater blogs”.
Anyone can access the records if they know who they’re looking for and at which office to look.
However, the free online databases for ancestry hobbyists aren’t real time. FindMyPast, one of the biggest ones for instance, only has national searchable records for births up to 2006 at the moment.
I hope they didn’t name him Hamlet and won’t announce it like before opening night. Or Stephen as in honor of Dr.Strange. I think it is quite possible they named the baby in relation to one of his big roles.
It’s official. The pictures are actually cute. I’m team Sophiebatch!
Now, I need to know the Cumberbaby’s name. Well, I suppose I don’t NEED to, but I’d like to!
I just read SH had some kind of directing gig this weekend. Hamlet seems very time consuming, was he able to go the premiere of her show?
No he was not there.
There are pictures all over Twitter that people took DURING the play last night. That is atrocious fan behavior, inconsiderate to the actors and to others in the audience.
An actors fanbase can really ruin a show. I saw the Crucible with Richard Armitage and every time he open his mouth or appeared on stage a group of PITA women would shriek, giggle and generally gossiped about how fit he was during the play (they were asked several times by the ushers and everyone else to shut up). When it came to the scene where the took his shirt off they almost fell onto the people in front of them in their desperation to get a better look.
The one thing about going to the theatre that winds me up is when you are in the stalls or circles are the twats in front of you lean forward blocking your view when they have a perfectly good view where they are – have almost been kicked out of a few performances from asking people to sit back and a heated discussion ensuing when they get arsey about it.
I was there and I confirm I have rarely experience a better audience, and I go to the theatre a lot. They were silent, considerate and all in all respectful. Maybe some took pictures at the end, but hey, it was to be expected. Marvellous experience. No one even wowed when the set was revealed, and believe me it is hard not to 🙂
I clearly went on a bad night. I go to the theatre a lot as well and generally audiences are very good and just sit back and enjoy the show. It was a great play though – the girl who played Abbi was fab, she kinda stole the show a bit.
I think there is a misunderstanding, my fault :), I was talking about Hamlet on opening night. 🙂
But The Crucible was good too, at least when I went 🙂
I don’t give two flips about the otter and comet show. His behavior to his fans during oscars and here is enough to turn off me off him. His acting isn’t so great that I’m willing to overlook his behavior and he’s weird looking, so he can’t compensate by being hot to me. He could have married toto from the Wizard of Oz for all I care. I’m not interested in his SO. But his being an ass to his fans is beyond the pail. And short sighted too because in the industry, what goes up goes down eventually. This is just a high point and those are always temporarily unless you are Brad Pitt.
I will say there are a lot of nannies from IMDB on this board and it’s annoying how they are bulling skeptics and haters here. The skeptics and haters can hate all they want, they don’t owe you an explanation. And they can have as far out of ideas that they want to have. Stop policing their comments.
And please, am I the only one who thinks that a show has been put on? He walks out the front door with paps near them and they get papped. What did you expect to happen, of course there will be smiles, etc. I’m not saying they don’t care about each other, they could very well be in love and she’s just a cold fish. But to say that this is just normal behavior is just stupid. They are selling you an image, whether it is true or not.
And to the idea of the stage door. Other actors had no problem with it, the theaters know how to accommodate it, all those decisions are taken into consideration. It’s not a stretch after all the comments he has made in the past of his fans, to think that the otter king himself made the decision not to do the stage door and had the rest of the cast follow suit so he won’t look bad. He’s the star of the show and they sold tickets off his name, he’s got a lot more power in this situation than people know.
I get it, people like the guy, they are fans of the guy, but can we call a spade a spade and stop with the excuses. He’s been an ass for about a year now. Maybe he has always been one and we never really got a clear picture of it until now. Maybe just to me then? So be it.
You clearly give two flips.
I have no idea how people don’t see that “nannies” and “skeptics/haters” exhibit the same sort of behavior. Your post is just as bizarre as stuff they do.
Aww, I struck a nerve. That’s adorable.
Only so much obsessive, pot calling kettle behavior I can take in one week.
LOL, one post on a big thread is hardly obsessive. Just been seeing a lot of bullying on this thread and wanted to say something.
But I think you like it more than you let on, otherwise you wouldn’t be here.
One post = 5 paragraph rant with way too much info and emotion for someone who’s supposedly disinterested.
Don’t see any actual bullying, although there are some questionable comments. Both skeptics/haters and obnoxious fans have the right to spew whatever, and each side has the right to debate/complain/argue about whatever crazy dribble is coming out. Two sides of the same over-invested coin.
I like the reasonable discussions that pop up in some these threads still, reminds me of the old CB.
LOL, you are reading way too much into it. That’s your own issue. I wasn’t emotional when writing that other than sick of the comments made on this thread. Nothing emotional about the subject of the comments. But you are free to misinterpret all you want.
I do agree that both sides are ridiculous at times. He’s a weird looking actor with only one hot role under his belt.
“Pale” as in defined territory, not “pail” as in… bucket. Never gets old. And your protestations are a bit too beaucoup. Are you that upset that the chinless alien scolded his unhinged florals? He has to if he wants to be taken seriously. He can’t be a fapping toy for the middle age forever. LOL
I don’t ask much from overpaid actors. But a little curtesy to their fans would be nice. He’s a hit and miss in this area.