Someone – and I only wish it had been me – once said of the plays of William Shakespeare: “I can’t see what the fuss is about. They’re just a lot of famous quotes strung together.”
Quite so; but what quotes they are. For such is Shakespeare’s genius in illuminating the human condition, that almost 400 years after his death, his plays are being performed more frequently than ever.
In an age when a person’s attention span rarely extends beyond the amount of time it takes to scroll down their Twitter feed, old Bill has somehow resisted the slings and arrows of outrageous fortune and maintained his pre-eminence as the most performed – and most quoted – dramatist of them all.
Most actors – at least those who think their craft consists of more than just blasting aliens to smithereens in multimillion-dollar Hollywood movies – see playing Shakespeare as a great challenge. And no role more fascinates, mesmerises and intimidates than that of Hamlet.
Every so often an actor comes along whose portrayal of the great Dane becomes an immediate theatrical sensation, and such a one is Benedict Cumberbatch. Until a few years ago, he was just one of many handsome young British actors jostling for stardom; but then came his starring role on the BBC's Sherlock, a line of successful movies and the inevitable Oscar nomination. Now he is the hottest property in show business, playing the title role in Hamlet at London's Barbican Centre.
Such is the frenzy of interest in the show that when tickets went on sale, the entire run sold out in minutes. Chiselled, mysterious, brooding, the lead actor has all the requisite characteristics to succeed – except, perhaps, the most important of all: luck.
While some actors have triumphed as Hamlet, others have not; due to either poor artistic choices, bad design, or other reasons outside their control. Yet in Cumberbatch’s case, the project is already mired in controversy, and we’re still three weeks from the official opening night.
First came his announcement that due to the overwhelming crush of well-wishers queuing outside the stage door each night, he would not be stopping to talk or give his signature.
One can understand his concern. Hamlet lasts long enough – well over three hours a pop – without having to spend a further hour outside signing autograph and posing for selfies. But the actor's declaration dismayed his adoring fans, and made him seem arrogant and aloof.
Then there was the ticklish question of reviews. Theatre protocol dictates that newspaper critics withhold from coming to see the show until the official “press night”, when they can all see and judge the same performance at once. But with the public greedy for a taster of how things were shaping up, rumour reached one leading national newspaper that a rival publication had covertly agreed to give the production a favourable review on press night in return for an exclusive interview.
Desperate not to be scooped, the paper in question sent its critic to review an early preview performance, leading to cries of foul in both Fleet Street and among the show’s cast and producers. Indeed, one well-known actor suggested that if this was to be the way things were done, all journalists should be judged on first drafts rather than on their finished articles.
And now a further furore has interrupted the smooth progress of the project; for last weekend Cumberbatch himself had to halt his performance in the middle of his most famous soliloquy (“To be or not to be”) to reprimand an audience member clandestinely filming him.
Still, it all adds to the hype, ensuring that the event remains headline news. Which, of course, is just what the producers are hoping for.
So before we feel too sorry, we should remember a line from the play: “Though this be madness, yet there is method in it.” As ever, Shakespeare knew what he was talking about.
Michael Simkins is an actor and writer in London
On Twitter: @michael_simkins
