Monday, March 02, 2009

I love you, Royal Shakespeare Company...

It's being reported that the Royal Shakespeare Company will film the David Tennant "Hamlet" production that just ended this past January. Added geek bonus: Patrick Stewart will reprise his role as Claudius. Here's the article:

The 37-year-old Dr Who actor and the entire cast of the RSC production are preparing to make a film version of the play in June to record for posterity his portrayal, which was described by some as the greatest Hamlet of his generation.

Speaking at a lunch held at the Haymarket Hotel, Oliver Ford Davies, 69, who was nominated for his portrayal of Polonius, tells me: "We are intending to film it over two or three weeks in June. It won't be a full feature film as there isn't time but it will certainly be more than just the filming of the stage. It will be fantastic to work together again."

Tennant unfortunately only managed 11 performances at the Novello Theatre, after already appearing for a run in Stratford-upon-Avon, when he suffered from a prolapsed disc, obliging his understudy Edward Bennett, 29, to fill in on 21 occasions.

Please don't let this turns into one of those, "we're only releasing it in the UK because America is too illiterate to buy more than three copies of this" endeavors. I swear, we can read and like our iambic pentameter just fine!

8 comments:

Michele said...

More importantly, at this point, please don't let this turn out to just be newspaper rumour-mongering! Because the RSC hasn't actually confirmed it yet!

(And don't get me started on why the heck the RSC didn't sign everyone up for a film version at the outset, once they saw how the tickets were selling out, because DUH!)

Liz said...

Yes, I thought about it being just a rumor and then I thought, well, I've had such a crappy week I'm choosing to believe in the happy thought! :)

Michele said...

I can empathise with you wanting to believe it!

Crunchyconmommy said...

Squeeee! I saw Ralph Fiennes as Hamlet on Broadway long, long ago (okay, maybe 1995?), but this? I might not be able to contain myself.

Sarah Blue said...

Oh! I hope they release it here. That is a definate must-have item. Especially with Tenant AND Patrick Stewart! Hooray!

Anonymous said...

I hope this is true as well. Someone over at TWOP said that with both Tennant and Stewart in the cast, that's any number of geeky fanbases covered, and geeks are "practically recession-proof."

Also, if it only comes out in the UK, one can always get a region-free DVD player (I picked one up for $60) and order the DVD from the UK. I'm sure amazon.uk will carry it--provided all this is true, of course!

crone51 said...

YAYYYYYYY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! If it's not just a rumor that is. Or rumour for Michelle's sake ( hi, Michelle!) .

Michele said...

Hey crone51!

There's still nothing on the RSC's website yet. :(