Andrew Scott's Hamlet (Almeida)

Sat in a similar seat. It's fine although the restricted view seats in the stalls are better. As tm says you miss the side of the stage - but anything that goes on there you can see reflected in the glass at the back of the stage.

I saw this last night and thought it was utterly brilliant. I won't go into that though, because I have a burning question that I need some input on, regarding a particular scene in this production:

*SPOILERS AHEAD*? Possibly?

In this production, right after Claudius' scene with Laertes, there is a scene between Horatio and Gertrude, in which Horatio gives Gertrude the letter from Hamlet, and she realizes the king tried to kill him. As soon as we got to that scene, my ears perked up even more, because I realized I had no memory of seeing that scene in any other production. I took mental note of several specific lines in the scene so I could search for it later. However, I cannot find it in any online text. None of the lines that I remember appear at all when I use the search function, nor can I find any scene between Horatio and Gertrude. DID ROBERT ICKE JUST WRITE THIS SCENE IN?? It sounded like Shakespeare, but it was fairly straightforward in content, so it wouldn't have been too difficult to fake. Or is the scene totally in the text and I'm just completely mistaken? Is it a folio/quarto discrepancy? I thought the scene worked very well actually, but now I'm utterly confused.

*END SPOILER*

If anyone can shed some light on this, I would be so grateful.

It's in the First Quarto, sondheimhats. Works here, doesn't it?

I saw this again recently. It's deepened and bedded in beautifully since the opening. It's fascinating, and Scott is now quite, quite stunning. I heard To be or not to be as if for the first time.

I didn't identify that scene as coming from Q1 btw. I read it in, I think, Holger Schott Syme's interesting review on his dispositio blog. I recommend this, long though it is.

I played Corambis (the equivalent character to Polonius) in a semi-staged reading of the Bad Quarto of Hamlet last year - and the scene between Horatio and Gertred was the only one that really shone a new light on the story.

It makes Gertrude's journey in Act 5 far more interesting.

I used to be a big fan of the Bad Quarto - but having now performed it, I never want to see it again. But the Horatio/Gertrude scene deserves to be saved.

Then it is "not to be" for me.  

Would love for NTLive to broadcast it, but I think that's unlikely.  They have the Barbican/Cumberbatch monstrosity on repeat, and seem to have relegated the superior NT/Kinnear to the archives.  I doubt they will see the need to have a third Hamlet in their stable.

Transfer announced.

Harold Pinter Theatre June 9-Sep 2


t.co/B2nwB7Hbdk

I thought Andrew Scott was doing Angels in Americas, as soon as the Almeida run was done?

Nope, he's not in it - though he was in a scene from the play, performed at the National Theatre 50th Anniversary Gala!

Though Garfield and Nathan Lane were at the Almeida the other day, seeing Re-member me, rather than Hamlet.

I thought this too but as others have said he did the anniversary extract and his name is Andrew so I think we have both been victims of The Mandela Effect.

I could have sworn Scott was announced as being cast when the first casting (pre-Nathan Lane announcment?) happened. I do dream a lot though. 

I think I just wanted lots of sexy people in it so came up with a cast I wanted, not what I deserved.

Though Mateo Oxley has a supporting role and he's the sexiest of them all.