thu 05/12/2024

Two new Hamlets off the telly | reviews, news & interviews

Two new Hamlets off the telly

Two new Hamlets off the telly

Michael Sheen and John Simm move into Elsinore

It's an axiom trotted out in the acting profession that a young male actor measures himself against the role of Hamlet, much as an older one does with Lear. It's been announced this week that a couple more are having a stab at the Prince of Denmark. Michael Sheen will be the Young Vic's Dane in winter 2011, while Sheffield will see John Simm's this autumn. And we already know that the next tranche of Hamlets will also include Rory Kinnear at the National later this year

All very intriguing. Sheen, 41, is going to be the oldest Hamlet in a while. Simon Russell Beale was at the north end of the character's playing range, though no Dane in recent memory has been quite as long in the tooth as Alan Rickman at 47. But for the most part, Hamlets are getting easier on the eye. Jude Law, recently nominated for a Tony Award, was straight Tinseltown casting. What this fresh round of castings suggests is that the road to Elsinore is increasingly peopled with time travellers.

Sheen has famously worked through a gallery of figures from England's past (there's one more instalment in his trilogy of Blair performances to come). Simm, who will be reunited in Sheffield with Paul Miller, his director in the Bush production of Elling, went back in time in Life on Mars. David Tennant went back and forth in Doctor Who. You'll get very short odds on Matt Smith murdering Polonius behind an arras once this fresh round of Hamlets have had their turn on the stage.

Share this article

Comments

Christopher Eccleston (not Ecclestone) did Hamlet long before he did Doctor Who.

Thanks for your comment, Poly. My mistake(s). I've altered the copy in accordance with your correction by simply deleting the offending sentence.

Add comment

The future of Arts Journalism

 

You can stop theartsdesk.com closing!

We urgently need financing to survive. Our fundraising drive has thus far raised £33,000 but we need to reach £100,000 or we will be forced to close. Please contribute here: https://gofund.me/c3f6033d

And if you can forward this information to anyone who might assist, we’d be grateful.

Subscribe to theartsdesk.com

Thank you for continuing to read our work on theartsdesk.com. For unlimited access to every article in its entirety, including our archive of more than 15,000 pieces, we're asking for £5 per month or £40 per year. We feel it's a very good deal, and hope you do too.

To take a subscription now simply click here.

And if you're looking for that extra gift for a friend or family member, why not treat them to a theartsdesk.com gift subscription?

newsletter

Get a weekly digest of our critical highlights in your inbox each Thursday!

Simply enter your email address in the box below

View previous newsletters