The Motive and the Cue - National Theatre

I enjoy Mark Gatiss's  work, so when I saw that he was appearing at the National Theatre in a new play by Jack Thorne, I  immediately suggested to a couple of my theatre-going friends that we go to see it.   

We went on Saturday, a week after the first performance, so still in previews.

The play, The Motive and the Cue is about the 1964 production, on Broadway, of Hamlet, starring RIchard Burton and directed by SIr John Gielgud - it's set mainly in the rehearsal room (with some scenes in Burton and Taylor's  or Gielgud's rooms) and explores the relationship between them, and their attempts to overcome the differences in their styles and approach to the play.

Neither of the protagonists is immediately likeable, but the performances are excellent - Gatiss is superb, his Gielgud is a poignant figure, anxious about his career and ongoing relevance, struggling to cope with Burton's volatility and challenging behaviour, and at times, very vulnerable (there's a scene with him meeting a sex worker that's beautifully done, pointing up his loneliness and vulnerability)

There's a big cast, many of whom don't get a lot to do or say, and I'm not sure that Tuppence Middleton really manages a full on ELizabeth Taylor, but I thoroughly enjoyed the play, and Gatiss in particular. I would love to see him in some Shakespeare - perhaps Hamlet , or perhaps Henry IV .

The title comes from Hamlet's 'Rogue and Peasant Slave soliloquy: - 

"What's Hecuba to him, or he to Hecuba,

That he should weep for her? What would he do,

Had he the motive and the cue for passion

That I have? He would drown the stage with tears

And cleave the general ear with horrid speech,

Make mad the guilty and appal the free,

Confound the ignorant, and amaze indeed

The very faculties of eyes and ears."

The play is at the National until 15th July,and definitely well worth seeing if you have the opportunity.