Two Actors Depart HAMLET, Starring Ian McKellen, Amidst an Ongoing Disagreement

Two actors have departed the upcoming production of Hamlet, starring Ian McKellen, set to open this week, amidst a disagreement, The Guardian reports.

Steven Berkoff, who plays Polonius, and Emmanuella Cole, who plays Polonius's son Laertes, will no longer be part of the cast. The two dropped out of the production due to clashes that began during rehearsals.

The play's director Sean Mathias said that Berkoff was unable to perform in the new dates when the show announced it was extending. He said there had been disagreements in rehearsals but that they were being blown up out of proportion.

"Actors have disagreements all the time in productions and you try to work them out - and sometimes you don't. The fact that neither of them are in the production at the moment is to do with other reasons," he said.

A separate source said Cole had been given time off to attend a workshop at the National Theatre.

It has yet to be announced who will be filling the roles of the departed actors.

Read more on The Guardian.

Learn more about the production at https://theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk