RSC's Hamlet in Novello, London

[Reav]

Hey fellow collectors!

I was wondering whether anyone here has already been to the London performance of Hamlet starring David Tennant and Patrick Stewart. I'm going to see the play in January and I'd love to know whether I can catch David and Patrick before the play at the stage door (since after the play, I guess there will be A LOT of people) and if so - when. I have their signatures VV but I'd love to have a picture taken with them. Do they even take pictures with fans?

Thanks!

[celebrityfan]

I may be mistaken, but the RSC is in Stratford-upon-Avon - not London.

[Reav]

You are correct but in this case, they have transferred Hamlet to London as of 3rd Dec until 9th Jan.

[mymymy]

Yes, Reav is indeed correct. The play has beeen transfered to London.
Im afraid I have no idea how good they are in-person. I can imagine there will be loads of both dealers and fans before and after shows and im not sure if they will have the same rule when at Stratford-upon-Avon about scrictly only play related items to be signed. Sorry Im not a help ut I would give it a shot. I would love a photo taken with Patrick. Im hpefull they will allow photos with them but often that depends on how many people are there.

[celebrityfan]

Ahh - I stand corrected! {thumb2} When I went to see 'The Tempest' at the RSC, Patrick Stewart was in it. I waited by the stagedoors and he would only do posed photographs with kids, and would only sign items to do with 'The Tempest' - tickets, programmes, etc. David Tennant, I've heard, is very nice and if he's not too busy will try to do posed photographs. But I can't be 100% sure! Good luck though! {thumb2}

[osiris]

I had originally planned to see this in January (I've seen it in Stratfors twice) however last week I scored front row for this Saturday gone.

You will not get photos taken with David or Patrick after the show. No chance. Patrick rarely, if ever, signs at the stage door. At least not for this production, mainly I assume because so many are there for David. David signs for some, but lately has been getting in his car and going. Not surprising after the reports of his bad back. You definitely wont get posed photos, the fans and David are seperated by a barrier. Please be considerate to other fans waiting for autographs by not asking him for a photo over the barrier. Anything signed must be play related.

On Saturday I was at the stage door talking to other cast members prior to the show. Patrick arrived, then left, then arrived again 10mins later. This was about 5pm. There were 5 of us there, we didn't speak to him. He had his head down, cap on and hurried in and out. We weren't going to interrupt him. It's possible you could catch him, but I wouldn't recommend.

I didn't see David arrive, I was there from 3 til 6. According to Edward (cast member & someone I'm on pretty friendly terms with, well he recognises me now and stops to chat anyway), David was already in the building prior to us arriving. Either he snuck in another door, or he'd been there all day. The latter, seems more likely on this occasion. While they usually arrive at least an hour before the performance (for warm up and fight rehearsal), Ed told me David had been struggling with a bad back. So he was likely there in advance to see whether he was going to perform or not (in the end, he did... however he pulled out of last night's performance, and Ed took the role of Hamlet).

David has ongoing back issues and it is possible he may miss more shows, even the entire run. It's unknown whether he will be performing tonight, though reports suggest he is determined to. He struggled on through Friday and Saturday despite the pain, and looked tired but elated with the response from the audience after the Saturday performance. Hopefully they wont let him perform if he is not fit, he'd be devastated to pull out, but we will be even more so if he does himself permanent damage.

[Reav]

Thank you very much for your input, osiris! I appreciate it...and if you hang out more around the theater, any further news or comments would be very welcome!

I feel really bad for David but on the other hand it would really ruin my whole trip to England if David wasn't in the play. It's not every day one get's to fly to UK for a theater event of a lifetime. And having a photo taken with Patrick or David would mean a great deal to me so I guess I will have to be a little assertive (even though I'll risk being an annoyance) and will try to talk to Patrick or David if I'm lucky enough to catch them before the play. I don't plan on going to the stage door after the show since I already have the VV autographs of both actors.

[osiris]

In case you haven't heard, David's back problem is incredibly serious. He's having surgery tomorrow and will not be back on stage til at least after Christmas. Personally, I don't think he'll be back at all and will miss the entire run. Of course, I hope with all my heart that I'm wrong.

I know this will be a disappointment, but please, support Edward Bennett (his understudy) as he is brilliant and it will be a great show. I'm going myself on Jan 3rd and looking forward to Edward's performance (and indeed those of Tom Davey, Ricky Champ and Rob Curtis who take on the roles of Laertes, Guildenstern and Lucianus respectively due to the knock on effect of the understudy process).

[Reav]

In case you haven't heard, David's back problem is incredibly serious. He's having surgery tomorrow and will not be back on stage til at least after Christmas. Personally, I don't think he'll be back at all and will miss the entire run. Of course, I hope with all my heart that I'm wrong.

Yes, I've read about this That's really bad, I'm sending him a GET WELL card today. I hope he will be OK soon.

I know this will be a disappointment, but please, support Edward Bennett (his understudy) as he is brilliant and it will be a great show. I'm going myself on Jan 3rd and looking forward to Edward's performance (and indeed those of Tom Davey, Ricky Champ and Rob Curtis who take on the roles of Laertes, Guildenstern and Lucianus respectively due to the knock on effect of the understudy process).

I'm sure Ed is great, I've read the press night reviews. But it is easy for you to say - you've seen David on the stage 3 times (plus you're not spending your whole one month salary for a trip to London and Hamlet tickets). I sincerely hope David will be able to perform after the Christmas...

[osiris]

Yes I have seen him on stage on three occasions... but that doesnt make what I say any less true. The friend I am going with has never seen David on stage before, and we fought tooth and nail for tickets (paying for RSC memberships to be able to book early). But she's still delighted to be going. We're devastated for David, and I'm very sorry for those that have booked and won't be seeing him. I'm not suggesting you would do this, but the reports of fans being disappointed in David himself and wanting refunds make me sick, when they knew the RSC policy on understudies when they booked.

And no I've not spent a whole months salary on one trip - but you have no idea what my financial situation is, so I'd prefer it if you didn't question it.

All I am saying is you will no doubt be disappointed that it's not David, but to ignore Edward and the rest of the cast outright does a disservice to the entire company, David included.