Robert Icke's West End Transfer of HAMLET to Close Next Month; Set for Broadcast on BBC Two in 2018

Audiences have under a month left to enjoy the multi award-winning Robert Icke's (Mary Stuart, The Red Barn, Uncle Vanya, Oresteia, Mr Burns and 1984) innovative production of Hamlet, starring Andrew Scott (Sherlock, Denial, Spectre, Pride and Cock) live on stage, which must end on 2 September 2017 at the Harold Pinter Theatre.

BBC Two will broadcast this critically acclaimed stage production of William Shakespeare's classic play, starring BAFTA and Olivier award-winning actor Andrew Scott in the title role.

BBC viewers will have a front row seat at this celebrated production of Hamlet, which will broadcast on BBC Two in 2018. The programme was commissioned by Patrick Holland (Controller, BBC Two) and Emma Cahusac (Commissioning Editor, Arts) and is produced by John Wyver at Illuminations Television. Shot live in front of a West End audience, BBC viewers will be given close-up access to this generation's most acclaimed Hamlet.

Following a sell out run at the Almeida Theatre, Hamlet has enjoyed a limited season in the West End, with over 55,000 people booked in so far across the entire run, equating to 96% of all tickets. 62% of Hamlet's audience have been first time attendees. Over 28,000 seats were available at £30 or under, specifically for under 30s - with over 300 available for each of the 96 performances. 15,000 tickets were sold at £25 or less.

Robert Icke, Director (and Almeida Theatre Associate Director) says: "It has been a real joy to work with such a gifted and dedicated company of actors on bringing this most famous play to audiences in 2017. The production has been on a wonderful journey from the Almeida to the West End, and I am very much looking forward to this next step on BBC Two. To be able to offer our version of Hamlet to as wide and diverse an audience as possible has always been of paramount importance to us, and now we are thrilled to be able to bring it to people across the country."

In celebration of the show's final weeks at the Harold Pinter Theatre, the critically acclaimed Almeida Theatre production of Hamlet has offered a number of exclusive events and behind-the-scenes insights into the production including a cast Q&A and an In conversation with Robert and Andrew. The final event announced will run on 22 August.

LIVE STREAM IN CONVERSATION WITH Robert Icke, Andrew Scott AND STEPHEN GROSZ - Hamlet, MADNESS AND MENTAL HEALTH

Tuesday 22 August - 2pm

Two of Hamlet's key themes are madness and grief; and mourning, bereavement and emotion are central to the story. Director Robert Icke used psychoanalyst Stephen Grosz's book THE EXAMINED LIFE as a reference point in rehearsals and one of the most feted aspects of the production has been that, in Andrew's performance, these emotions feel unusually personal and raw. Robert, Andrew and Stephen discuss the character, the play and its themes of madness and mourning, sanity and survival, live from the Facebook Studio.

Watch the live stream from 2pm on Tuesday 22 Aug via Time Out London. Available to watch again in full after the event.

Hamlet is produced by Ambassador Theatre Group (Sunday In The Park With George, Buried Child, Oresteia), Sonia Friedman Productions and the Almeida Theatre (Chimerica, Ghosts, King Charles III, 1984, Oresteia), who are renowned for introducing groundbreaking, critically acclaimed transfers to the West End.

The full cast of Robert Icke's production includes Barry Aird (Francisco/Gravedigger), Madeline Appiah (Guildenstern), Derbhle Crotty (Gertrude), Marty Cruickshank (Player Queen), Jessica Brown Findlay (Ophelia), Calum Finlay (Rosencrantz), Joshua Higgott (Horatio), Daniel Rabin (Reynaldo), David Rintoul (Ghost/Player King), AnDrew Scott (Hamlet), Maanuv Thiara (Marcellus), Luke Thompson (Laertes), Peter Wight (Polonius), Angus Wright (Claudius) and Matthew Wynn (Bernardo/Player 3/Priest).

Hamlet has designs by Hildegard Bechtler, with lighting by Natasha Chivers, sound by Tom Gibbons, and video design by Tal Yarden. The Associate Director is Daniel Raggett. Casting is by Julia Horan.

Multi award-winning director, Robert Icke's previous work at the Almeida includes adapting and directing Mary Stuart (soon to transfer to the West End) Uncle Vanya, Oresteia (also West End and for which Icke won the Critics' Circle, Evening Standard and Olivier Awards) and the multi-award-winning 1984 with Duncan Macmillan (also West End as well as playing several UK and international tours, including current Broadway run at the newly opened Hudson Theater).

His other work as a director includes The Red Barn at the National Theatre, The Fever at The May Fair Hotel, Mr Burns at the Almeida, Boys and Romeo and Juliet for Headlong.

Andrew Scott is best known for his BAFTA award-winning role, playing Moriarty, in the BBC's Sherlock and was most recently on screen in the film Denial alongside Rachel Weisz.

On stage, he most recently appeared in The Dazzle at Found111. His other theatre credits include Olivier Award-winning performances in c*ckand A Girl in a Car with a Man, as well as Birdland, Dying City, Crave and Playing The Victim at the Royal Court; 50 Years on Stage, Sea Wall, Emperor and Galilean and Aristocrats at the National Theatre; Design for Living and Dublin Carol at the Old Vic; and The Vertical Hour on Broadway. His recent films include Swallows and Amazons; Alice in Wonderland: Through the Looking Glass; Spectre, Jimmy's Hall, Victor Frankenstein, Locke, Pride (BIFA Award for Best Supporting Actor) and the forthcoming film Handsome Devil. Further television credits include The Hollow Crown, The Town, The Hour, John Adams and Band of Brothers. He has twice won the BBC Audio Drama award for his work on Radio.

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