THEATRE-CUMBERBATCH/HAMLET VIDEO Benedict Cumberbatch asks fans not to film Hamlet performance

Record ID: 144409

  • Title: THEATRE-CUMBERBATCH/HAMLET VIDEO Benedict Cumberbatch asks fans not to film Hamlet performance
  • Date: 10th August 2015
  • Summary: LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE -DECEMBER 7, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AT THE MOET BRITISH INDEPENDENT FILM AWARDS LONDON, ENGLAND, UNITED KINGDOM (FILE-OCTOBER 8, 2014) (REUTERS) VARIOUS BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH AT LONDON FILM FESTIVAL OPENING NIGHT WITH 'THE IMITATION GAME'
  • Embargoed: 25th August 2015 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: United Kingdom
  • Country: United Kingdom
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVACSGVDC7LA56XFOV1DAZ7XMSRC
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: THIS EDIT CONTAINS PROFANITY
    British actor Benedict Cumberbatch urged fans to stop filming his performances as Shakespeare's 'Hamlet' after a show at London's Barbican Centre on Saturday (August 8).
    An amateur video shot post-performance outside the stage door shows Cumberbatch, 39, addressing a crowd of waiting fans who are using phones to film and take photos of the actor.
    "I can see cameras, I can see red lights in the auditorium, and it may not be any of you here that did that but it's blindingly obvious like that one there, that little red light, it's very very obvious," he said.
    Saturday's performance was reportedly stopped twice because of technical difficulties, and Cumberbatch complained that the show - which opens with the famous 'To be or not to be' soliloquy - was "not the easiest place to begin a play full stop, but for the second time even harder."
    "I could see a red light in about the third row on the right, it's mortifying, and there's nothing less supportive or enjoyable as an actor being on stage experiencing that."
    He said that the theatre would "get strict from now on", and appealed to the crowd to spread his message on social media.
    Cumberbatch began the title role of 'Hamlet' on August 5.
    The production has been reported as the fastest-selling play in British history.
    Although the play appeared to originally sell out, the Barbican Centre has been making some tickets available on the day, causing Cumberbatch's avid fans who call themselves 'Cumberbitches' to camp out outside the venue.
    'Hamlet', which is directed by Lyndsey Turner, has its official opening night on August 26 and runs through to October 31.
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