Edward Bennet in Hamlet - Thursday 11th December 2008

68th RSC performance of Hamlet (my 23rd)

I missed the performance of Hamlet last night for a number of reasons, mainly the fact that I had a bad cold and felt really rough. My seat was in the stalls (although not a great view) and I managed to find someone who was delighted to have it. Instead I was in bed by 11.00pm!

Last night too the news came through that David Tennant was going to have an operation on his back today. It put things into perspective. On Tuesday night I was down as what (IMHO) should have been David Tennant's moment of triumph (great London press reviews) he was laid up with a bad back, but last night it brought it home that acting is "only" a job and health is more important.

Tonight I had a second row seat and I didn't feel as rough so a friend and I went. Thankfully no cough has developed yet and I was very careful to only blow my nose at the end of each scene which was just as well as during the reception scene, Patrick Stewart actually stopped and repeated a line as someone was coughing badly at the point!

I thought Edward Bennet as Hamlet was a lot better than on Monday night. He didn't gabble his lines as much but I just prefer David Tennant's interpretation. DT plays a more depressed Hamlet at the start and then a maniac one but Edward seems to just play him as angry all the way through, whereas with David he plays two different characters.

Edward says "your philosophy" whereas DT had switched (quite early in the run) to saying "our philosophy".

Edward's first line is different to how I've always known it (and how DT says it) as I've always known it to be "A little more than kin and less than kind" but EB puts the word "of" in the line somewhere.

Tonight, instead of "although I am native here and to the manor born", EB said "although I am to the manor born and native here" which is not how he said it on Monday.

EB seems more hesitant of using the match so they lit a light under the bed. Often David Tennant will hold the match for a minute or so. I;m always worried that he;s going to burn his fingers!

Tom Davey is just brilliant as Laeretes (personally I think he's better in the part than Edward) but Ricky Champ looks uncomfortable as Guildenstern to me.

EB in the red T-shirt does nothing for me!

The only clothes EB wears that are different from when DT plays it is in the final scenes when DT will wear a white vest with a blue shirt over it that he does up and tucks into his trousers on stage. Ed wears a blue stripped shirt with nothing underneath that he leaves untucked and even rolls up his sleeves.

The parts I think EB does better are the musical bits! If ever there's a musical version of Hamlet I think EB would get the part over DT! EB whistles far louder than DT and he plays the recorder right-handed. On a more serious note, I think the way he "drags" Ophelia around the stage by her hair in the nunnery scene is very effective.

I think Patrick Stewart is acting far better now!

Hamlet Press Night - 9th December 2008

I booked my seat for tonight's Hamlet Press Night through the RSC postal application over a year ago so I had quite a good seat.

Unfortunately I started a cold yesterday and I felt rough all day today. At about 4.00pm I saw that someone had posted online that they had heard on the radio that David Tennant would not be playing in Hamlet tonight.

I rang the Box Office to check and was told that they were waiting to hear either way and then he asked me to hang on and confirmed that they had just heard that he wouldn't be playing.

I felt really sorry for David Tennant as a Press Night for Hamlet in London is a really big deal so I wasn't surprised to hear that the official press release said that he was "gutted". I just hope that he recovers soon and I'm optimistically hanging on to the hope that as he cancelled quite late, he may be able to play again later this week (ideally for me tomorrow!).

As I felt rough, I gave my ticket to someone I work with who was keen to see Hamlet so it went to a good home

No David Tennant in Hamlet tonight - Monday 8th December 2008

65th RSC performance of Hamlet (my 22nd)

I'm sure I'm going to be totally shattered by the end of the week, with working 11 hours each day, going to Hamlet in the evening, not getting home until 12.15am and then getting up at 6.00am to do it all again the next day but equally I'm sure that I'm gong to look back at what a brilliant, fun time I've had this week!

Originally I was "only" going on Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday this week but then some front row seats came up on the Novello website for Wednesday and a friend dropped out of meeting up tonight at the same time that they had front row in the Grand Circle on the site so I decided to go again tonight as it'll give me a good chance to try out my new binoculars!

Unfortunately when I got to the theatre, there were signs to say that David Tennant had hurt his back and would be unable to perform tonight so instead Edward Bennett would be playing Hamlet instead which meant that Tom Davey would play Laertes and the guy who plays one of the “spear-carriers” would play Guildenstern. I tossed about whether or not to go in (as I’m starting a cold) but, as I was disappointed that I’d missed the understudy performance of the play in Stratford, I decided to attend and I was glad that I had.

First of all, Gregory Doran came out to explain that DT had hurt his back and had battled through Friday and Saturday nights performances and then explained that this was Edward’s first performance as Hamlet. (A friend later mentioned that she wondered if tonight’s cancellation was more precautionary as the Press Night is tomorrow evening.)

I had to remind myself that Edward was playing his version of Hamlet and not David Tennant’s version but despite that, I thought he was still better than the guy who played Hamlet in Bristol. Personally though I thought he was eclipsed by Tom Davey stepping into Laertes’ shoes. I’ve never been too impressed by Edward’s portray as Laertes as I thought he was rather flat but I thought Tom brought him much more to life and played him with more passion.

Edward did gabble rather through all the speeches (which I know is a sign of nerves), for example the “To be or not to be” speech he must have done in just over a minute and the “Too, too solid flesh” speech he delivered in an angry way rather than a depressed one.

There were a few mistakes though, the most obvious of which was that Hamlet did not light the match after he had shot Polonius so the stage was all in darkness as they continued the scene! Eventually someone off stage turned a light on before Hamlet turned on the light switch behind the bedside cabinet!

Hamlet also missed out a lot of his speech about Denmark being a prison and there were a few other slips like him actually joining in the drink at the celebration and saying a few words wrong during the play within the play, plus not wearing the crown off stage after the play so he couldn’t wear it in the bedroom scene.

Tonight Hamlet reverted to “your philosophy” and not “our philosophy” as David Tennant has been saying.

Hamlet dragged Ophelia round the stage by her hair a bit in the nunnery scene.

Country was said as one word tonight!

The sword fight was slightly stilted but I thought Edward did really well considering he was doing the opposite moves to how he usually plays it.

At the end of the play (about 5 minutes earlier than normal due to the pace!), Edward received a massive round of applause and it was nice to see that the theatre was still quite full.

I didn’t use the binoculars as much as I would have if David Tennant had been playing hamlet but they certainly brought their faces into clear view from the Grand Circle!

Next performance for me: Tuesday (9th)!

Hamlet Front Row Centre - Saturday 6th December 2008

64th performance of Hamlet (my 21st)

Photo not from tonight

I was really lucky again with these tickets as I happened to be online on Thursday when they added Row B in the stalls so I snapped up 2 for tonight as a friend really wanted to go and I certainly didn't mind going again! My seat tonight was slightly more central than last night (but I think I preferred last night's seat as more happens on stage left).

David Tennant was back to crouching and sitting even more on stage tonight. There were some fans of his beside me who had been told that it was because he had a bad back but I think it's also because there's less room to move around so he uses up and down more. The way he moved around certainly didn't look as though there was anything too seriously wrong with his back. I just think he's also trying out different ways of doing things in this theatre.

Once again David Tennant crouched into a ball at the beginning of the reception scene and stood for the "Seems Madam" speech. Patrick Stewart seems to take a delight in really slapping DT's arms at the end of that scene, almost as though he's trying to make him spill his wine!

Penny Downie's cold seemed a bit better tonight although you could hear her coughing off stage before the scene when she tells them that Ophelia has drowned. Again tonight Hamlet stroked her hair at the end of the bedroom scene and the kissed her on the head rather than on the lips.

You can hear far more clearly here what Hamlet says when they are going around the stage swearing on the sword. I could never really make out the words clearly in Stratford but I can here in London.

Tonight DT did all the "To be or not to be" speech on his knees. He used to use all his body to look uncomfortable and depressed but tonight I could only see his torso and face and he managed to convey exactly the same thing which is very impressive. He talks to the whole audience (and this is a very high theatre) and his eyes constantly look all around which encompasses everybody.

I think my favourite part tonight was during the play scene as just for a second DT looked directly at me!

The "Now I am alone" speech was just fantastic tonight! DT used all the stage and really got into it. When I've seen other actors perform that speech, there's been hardly any reaction when they've talked about people sitting at a play but when DT plays it, there's always a nervous twitter that goes around the crowd!

In the bedroom scene when Gertrude knocked the lamp off the bedside table and it falls on the ground, there was about a second delay before they switched the lamp off tonight!

Tonight from where I was sitting I could see DT peeping through the curtain to check that Polonius's body was in position and then he just crept out as Claudius ended his speech before he dragged it across the stage.

There were a couple of mistakes on stage tonight that I noticed:
Laertes didn't have the unction with him so he just mentioned it.
Hamlet moved away from Rosencrantz and Guildenstern too early and then realised that he had to walk around Polonius with them so he walked backwards as they walked forwards instead of having his arms around their shoulders.

I also noticed that tonight DT played his recorder left-handed (i.e. with his left hand highest).

Tonight DT did most of the eggshell speech on his knees. That's one speech that I still struggle to understand (it's the only speech in the play that I really don't know by heart).

As DT exited the stage after the graveyard scene he tripped over his rucksack so that he landed on it and Horatio helped him up to get it off stage in time to get changed. (This was behind the side curtain so was out of view of most people.)

When Hamlet was cut on the neck, as DT pulled his hand away, I noticed that the vial that had held the blood was still caught on his hand so he flicked that across the stage out of sight!

Tonight Edward Bennett (who plays Laertes) did the speech at the end of the bows about the AIDS collection.

I had to walk past the stage door to catch my train and I saw that they had the barriers set the same way as on Thursday so I doubt that many people will have got autographs. I didn't bother staying as I wouldn't have been able to see much of his interaction.

Next performance for me: Monday (8th)!

Front row seeing David Tennant in Hamlet - 5th December 2008!

63rd performance of Hamlet (my 20th)

Photo not from tonight

I was really lucky with these tickets as I happened to be online yesterday when they added Row B in the stalls and made that the front row instead of row C! I'd read that the front of the stage is high but I didn't think it was. It was just like watching a massive television screen when you can see every movement and all their facial expressions - it was just brilliant!

I felt really sorry for Penny Downie tonight as she was obviously really struggling with a cold. A couple of time her voice cracked and she had to cough but she still gave a great performance. At the end though you could see in her eyes that she was totally full of cold and felt rough. During the scene where Ophelia has gone mad and is giving out the flowers, I would imagine that all the other actors have been told not to move and let's just say that it was quite revolting watching Penny at that part! I noticed too that instead of kissing her on the lips as Hamlet usually does at the end of the bedroom scene, tonight he gently stroked her hair and kissed her on the head.

David Tennant is definitely using the height of the stage far more than in Stratford. I don't know if it's because the stage is a quarter smaller than at The Courtyard, but he is sitting and crouching on stage far more than he used to. It's almost as though there's less room to move around so he uses up and down more.

The first instance of this was when Hamlet first walked on stage at the reception scene. In Stratford DT would stand with his back facing some of the audience (in London it would be all the audience) while Claudius speaks. Tonight David Tennant crouched down during all of that, just holding his glass and looking at the floor. It's very effective as it's at a royal reception with ambassadors and other important people and the depressed Hamlet is just crouching in a ball! (It also meant that I was in the lucky position of having him directly in my eye level for about 5 minutes!) I was very impressed at this point that he could stay in that position as it must be so hard on his knees and thighs!

Tonight David Tennant's expressions in the scene with Horatio (when he's told about him seeing the ghost) was just brilliant! At first he was more emotional than he sometimes has been about losing his father (the "we will not see his like again" part) and then his facial expressions when Horatio told him that he had seen his father's ghost was just amazing! You could just read all his thoughts at that point. The friend I went with said that she had never seen any of David Tennant's acting before but she was totally amazed at how good he is!

Tonight I was watching DT's expressions a lot during the ghost's speech and he really reacts to everything the ghost says, even though there'll be a limited number of people who can see his face at that point.

I went with a friend who said that she knew Hamlet so she asked me during the interval how they were going to get around it as Hamlet had just killed Claudius in the middle of the play! I explained that they had gone to the interval halfway through the scene.

Tonight from where I was sitting I saw DT come out from behind the curtain quite early to get into position ton drag "Polonius's body" across the stage so he had to crouch there out of sight of most people.

One funny thing that happened was that Gertrude called out asking what the noise of the rebellion was before the noise was actually made!

At the end of the bows Keith Osborn walked forward and explained that they were doing the collection for AIDS sufferers (as lots of theatres are this week) and that there would be collection buckets at all the exits. I found his speech especially poignant as he said that gave the statistics of how many people die of the disease and said that he had calculated that since they started the play that night equivalent to as many people as there were in the theatre would have died. That really brought it home to me.

I had to walk past the stage door to catch my train and I saw that they had the barriers set the same way as on Thursday so I doubt that many people will have got autographs. I didn't bother staying as the part I used to enjoy in Stratford was listening to his interaction with the crowd and I wouldn't have been able to have heard that.

Next performance for me: Tomorrow (6th)!

Hamlet in London from the Grand Circle - 4th December 2008

62nd performance of Hamlet (my 19th)

Photo not from tonight

I had a total nightmare getting into Hamlet tonight! It's a long story but the solution was that I had to run back to the office and buy some tickets online and then collect them from the theatre 10 minutes later! We got seats in Row C of the Grand Circle (which is the third of the four levels) but they were slightly restricted viewing but for £10 we weren't too bothered and after the hassle to get the tickets, I was just glad to be there! It meant that we couldn't see the front of the stage on stage left so something like where Hamlet is watching the play within the play, we could only see David Tennant when he leaned forward.

Despite that it was a great performance again and I'm getting more used to it not being a thrust stage.

I think the first scene works better further away from the stage than it does in the stalls. The problem at the Novello is that they can't get it as dark as they could at The Courtyard. Here there are large fire exit signs that are illuminated so in the stalls you can see things like the ghost arriving instead of being surprised at its appearance with the actors. The other obvious thing in the stalls are the two extra actors who walk across the front of the stage. It worked really well at The Courtyard as it looked as though the ghost was exiting in all different places but in the stalls (at least at the front) it's obvious that two actors just walk across the stage. Up in the circles, with all the torches flashing around, it looks like just total confusion which is effective.

I thought David Tennant's "Too, too solid flesh" speech was just amazing tonight! He just put so much emotion into it. I always find that speech hard to "enjoy" (if that's the right word") as it's such a raw portrayal of the speech and I find that hard to watch but tonight especially you couldn't help but feel for Hamlet's grief and losing his father and his anger at what he considers is his mother's betrayal (and this is before he's told that his uncle killed his father). I think this must be one of the poignant speeches in any play and DT performs it amazingly.

Probably my favourite scene of the whole play is the bedroom scene but I also really like from the "To Be or not to be" speech right through to the end of the play within the play as DT is hardly off stage for that whole part! He hardly stops moving though that all and is very mesmerising!

Tonight the gravedigger didn't toss the skulls and jawbone out as far as he usually does, probably because there was a danger that they could fall off the edge of the stage if he tossed them as he did in Stratford!

Unfortunately a lot of the second half of the play was spoilt for me tonight as there were 6 people in 3 lots that had to leave early. Also the guy next to me had a coughing fit so had to get past me to get out (and then didn't realise that the loos really echo so we could still hear everything!) and someone's alarm or pager went off for about 5 minutes quite audibly!

At the end of the bows Oliver Ford Davies walked forward and explained that they were doing a collection for AIDS sufferers (as lots of theatres are this week) and that there would be collection buckets at all the exits.

Afterwards I went to the stage door (as I had just missed one train) to see what would happen tonight. I stood on the other side of the road (as I didn't want an autograph) and they kept all the fans back behind the barriers. Unlike Stratford when David Tennant usually came out within 5 minutes of the end of the play, tonight almost all the other actors came out first. Patrick Stewart went along one barrier signing autographs and some of the others did too but most just went off towards the underground station. Oliver Ford Davies received a massive cheer which was nice!

Just before DT was due to come out, a people carrier pulled up by the exit. When he came out there were probably 50 people on each side of the barriers but only the people nearest the door got an autograph so he probably only signed about 5 or 10 things. It's a shame that they're not using the exit he used last night as more people could get to him.

Next performance for me: Tomorrow (5th)!

David Tennant in Hamlet (First Night in London) - Wednesday 3rd December

61st performance of Hamlet (my 18th)

I work near the Novello so I popped out of work today at about 9.30am (the doors apparently opened at 10.00am) to see what the queue for day tickets / returns was like and there were about 15-20 very cold people waiting outside.

I left work at about 7.00pm and there was a massive crowd outside the theatre waiting to get in as they were only letting a few people in at a time. The theatre is a real warren of a place as to get to my seat in the stalls I had to go down to the bar and turn left, then down some more steps, up some others, around a corner and then down some more! At this point the people in front of me were joking that we were going to end up on the Circle Line!

We came out at the front of the stalls. I'd bought my seat through the RSC postal system so I was in Row E which I understood was going to be the 4th row as we were told that rows A and B would be removed but row B was there. Not that it mattered as I still had a good view. The stage is a lot higher than in Stratford but I think that even in the front row you would be able to see okay unless you were very short. There was plenty of leg room and the theatre was a comfortable temperature (plus the loos were nice!).

However I did feel that the stage was cramped, at least compared to The Courtyard Theatre. For example in Stratford they had 8 chandeliers and 6 panes of glass at the back but at the Novello there is only room for 6 chandeliers and 4 and a half panes of glass, plus there is glass around parts of the side of the stage. I also really miss (as I knew I would) the actors using the walkways through the audience. Other than that, they had staged it pretty much as I expected except that the thrones were lowered into position (the bed was carried onto stage). Also it limited DT being able to run off stage as there's not much room between the edge of the stage and the wall! When he threw the book, he had to just drop it as there wasn't enough room and when the gravedigger throw one of the skulls out, I thought it was going to roll of the stage!

It was another great performance and you couldn't really tell that they hadn't played in front of an audience for 18 days! I thought David Tennant was especially strong tonight in his first few scenes - his expressions when he was told that they had seen the ghost was just amazing as he changed from surprise to astonishment to wonder all in a few seconds! (In that same scene I always like to see how he says the "very like, very like" line as sometimes the words are close together and sometimes he pauses - tonight was a pause!).

Due to the stage DT spoke right at the front of the stage more than in Stratford but he addressed all the levels in the theatre at different times. A lot of his "Now I am alone" speech was at the front and he ran along the front of the stage for the "gives me the lie in the throat" part.

Hamlet's "Too, too sold flesh" soliquee was especially good (and emotional) tonight but it was marred slightly by the walkie-talkie of one of the theatre staff crackling into life at the beginning of the speech!

There were a few mistakes that I noticed (I love live theatre!):
In the scene where Hamlet is told about the ghost and he's asking if they will be armed tonight, Hamlet is supposed to say "From top to toe?" followed by Marcelleous saying "From head to foot" but tonight David Tennant got his line wrong as he said "From head to foot" too so they both said that line.
Another mistake was made by the Player King as he said a line wrong.
The third mistake was that Claudius was taking about Ophelia but said "her father has come from France" instead of "her brother has come from France".

David really struggled to get his recorder into his pocket tonight - in the end he guided it in with his hand! He also struggled to do up one of his buttons on his blue shirt as he was a lot further along in that speech before he had succeeded!

The bedroom scene was brilliant tonight. Both David Tennant and Penny Downie play that scene so well, and so differently each performance. I had heard that they were going to change it so that they had photos of the two brothers but they still used the newspapers.

The "In Heaven!" line when Hamlet is tied to the chair received the biggest laugh that I've heard tonight.

David Tennant sat down a few extra times tonight so it'll be interesting to see if that is how he's going to play it now (with the smaller stage) or whether that was just tonight. For example he sat with his legs out and his feet facing the audience for the speech about Denmark being a prison and again for part of the discussion with Osric.

Afterwards when they had bowed, Ryan Gage explained that this week loads of theatres were collecting for World AIDS Day and there were buckets at all the exits.

There's a new programme for the London performances with the photo of Hamlet with the crown on the front (£3.50).

As I had 25 minutes before my train home I went to the stage door. For some reason they had arranged it so that the fans were behind the barriers either side of the door (probably so that people could walk along the pavement okay). It was a good idea to put up the barriers but only about 4 people would be at the actual stage door entrance (with about 50 behind them) unless DT walked along the pavement so I couldn't see how that was going to work (but as we once accidentally went by that theatre after a matinee when some pop idol guy was playing there and there were fans all over the road, it seemed a good idea to try something). As I'm not into autographs (and I've previously met David Tennant) I just stood at the other side of the road to watch. However, in the end DT came out of the other door and it took a little while for people to realise that he was there! There were then a lot of people around him but there didn't appear to be any pushing.

Next performance for me: Tomorrow (4th)!

Last Love's Labour's Lost - 15th November matinee

24th and final performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 14th)

This was the final performance of Love's Labour's Lost and there was a definite feeling of last day of term on stage! We spoke to one of the theatre staff during the interval and she said exactly the same! (Hamlet and MND are moving to London but LLL isn't.)

David Tennant didn't get the hat in the tree today so instead he went and picked it up and put it on the vertical branch which received a terrific laugh!

There were a few mishaps today (I love live theatre!). For example near the beginning the Princess's purse fell onto the stage. She looked down at it but Boyet picked it up and she fastened it when she was sitting down later.

Also when the Princess through the coin to the Forester, he didn't catch it and it ended up in the front row so he got off the stage to pick it up.

Also Nathaniel's cloth hat fell off. He realised it had as he moved it with his foot slightly nearer the side of the stage. Later Costard picked it up and gave it back to him. He acted as tough he hadn't realised that he'd lost it but he had.

Another thing that happened was that as the swing came down the first time, a flower fell down off it so Ryan Gage picked it up and prsesnted it to the maid.

The other mishap was that one of the coins came off the camel's bridle and rolled across the stage so Dumaine gave that to his lady.

When Berowne came out today he spoke to both Longaville and Dumaine before lying down on the stage.

I was quite sad at the end that this was the last performance of Love's Labour's Lost as this is a great production (far better than the version I saw at The Globe last year).

And my favourite line (and delivery) is still "I that am honest"!

Next performance for me: Hamlet tonight (15th)

David Tennant bumped into me...

...or at least his bag did!

I left home at 6.30am and had breakfast (for the last time!) at my usual spot on the M40. It felt really weird to be going up to Stratford-Upon-Avon for the last time to see David Tennant...at least in these two plays. I can't really complain though as I've seen him far more than most. Plus I keep telling myself that I'm seeing him even more at the Novello in London!

I got to Stratford by 10.00am and managed to get a parking spot in my favourite place so that was handy as it meant that I didn't have to keep crossing the river! I got to the theatre by 10.10am and there was already people queuing for returns all down the courtyard and into Southern Lane. When I went inside the theatre there was also three lines of people in there too! This was after I saw some people with sleeping bags walking away from the theatre so they obviously had managed to get tickets.

I'd booked on the 10.30am theatre tour back in August and it was fascinating! First of all we went up to the upstairs foyer and our guide explained that that part of the building was the old Other Place and all the new theatre proper was the new part which only has planning permission for five years so it will be pulled down when the refurbished theatre is completed. She pointed out that the theatre lights there were still up and visible from the foyer - there's also a bicycle there too!

We then went downstairs to the backstage area. I didn't realise that the part where Hamlet drags Polonius out is actually part of the theatre and not backstage. As we were standing there (I was near the back) I noticed DT's security guard coming through so as I realised David Tennant was probably following him (it was about 10.45am at this time) I moved over to let him go by quietly. The guy behind me moved too but more into the way so that as David Tennant passed by, his bag knocked into me.

Some of the women on the tour then noticed him (he'd gone into the dressing room part by then) and one of them (in her 30s) was literally jumping up and down in her excitement! It quite depressed me seeing all that. He'd only come from the car park and had needed a bodyguard (someone told me later that he hadn't managed to get his usual spot nearest the door...some fans know his car now). He had his baseball cap well down on his head.

The backstage area is very small - maybe ten feet wide. The part that amazed (and worried!) me was that the uncracked part of the backdrop is totally transparent so that people backstage can look through and see the audience clearly!

We then moved to the front row and sat there for a while and then up to the gallery area to try out those seats too.

As we left the theatre both the guy who plays the priest in Hamlet and David Tennant came out on stage to start their pre-performance warm-ups so we watched some of that briefly.

Hamlet - Saturday 8th November (evening)

57th performance of Hamlet (my 16th)

It made a change for me to drive south to Stratford! I'd been in Scotland on business and managed to fit in an Am-Dram performance of Hamlet too. The production was okay but Hamlet was played by a girl which took some getting used to! She was easily the best actor in the cast but rather rattled through the soliquees unfortunately. Once again, they cut short my favourite speech, but all of the 5 productions I've seen have cut it so I guess I'm in a minority!

I was in my H5 seat so I had a totally uninterrupted view other than the woman sitting next to me who CONSTANTLY fidgeted through the whole performance! I can ignore a bit of movement but there can't have been a minute in the whole play where she didn't move - it was very off-putting. She even went out to the loo twice too.

Despite the distraction, I still really enjoyed this performance and thought they all acted with massive intensity tonight.

My usual musings on the performance:

After Hamlet's first real speech ("Seems madam" etc - a speech that is also cut!) David Tennant took a drink of his "wine" which I haven't seen him do before but it looked effective as the character is obviously distraught at being told by his mother that his grief only seems deep.

One thing that I've only recently noticed is that in the same scene Polonius mouths the words that Laeretes says to Claudius as though Polonius has coached him to say that speech.

The scene between Laeretes and Ophelia at the beginning of the play has evolved nicely in the run. At first it often came across slightly flat but now they show quite a bit of brother / sister friendliness. Often Laeretes will tweak her nose but tonight he gave her a sticky willy.

Once again Hamlet kissed the stage during the scene where he sees the ghost.

During the scene with Hamlet and Polonius (the fishmonger scene) Hamlet burped at one part.

Near the end of the first half, I was aware of some noise in the theatre. At first I thought it was the air conditioning being particularly loud but then I realised that it was pouring hard and it was the sound of the rain on the metal roof! During the interval I went outside and it was lashing down!

The closet scene is still my fabourite as David Tennant and Penny Downie act so well in that scene each night. I thought it was great at the first performance but it's improved tenfold. I really wonder what it's going to be like by the end of the run in London!

I've read online a few times that David Tennant smells really nice so I was determined today that when he walked past my seat, that I would inhale to check! (The time I was introduced to him in London, I had too much on my mind to think about doing that too!) Unfortunately that part of the play is when the helicopter noise is happening and they have smoke blowing which has it's own smell so I came around with the conclusion that he smells of helicopter fumes and I'm sure that's not the case!

At the end of the performance there was a massive cheer by the audience as they really loved it tonight.

Even though I'd already driven down from Scotland today, I found the drive home easy as I was still buzzing from the performance!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost on Saturday (15th)

Love's Labour's Lost - 6th November (Matinee)

21st performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 13th)

It was lovely to just drive about 20 miles to the theatre in time for a matinee today! It was a much older crowd again - I was the youngest by about 20 years in my 8 seat row! They all really seemed to enjoy the play a lot though. The pensioner next to me sometimes sat with her head in her hands as she was laughing so much! My seat was in Row K but in direct line with my usual seat in Row H so I could see perfectly down the centre aisle. It was also slightly raised so my view was just perfect.

There were a couple of mistakes on stage today but I'm sure that most people there won't have noticed them. For example Costard missed out his "Not a word about Costard yet" line (which doesn't affect Navarre's reading of Amado's letter to him).

Also, when Berowne pulled out his poem from the band in his trousers, it wasn't torn today so instead he pointed out a bit that was the rhyming part and another that was the melancholy part.

The other thing was that Amado had some trouble finding his pocket when he was looking for the remuneration, so he said "this", then "that" and then (when he found it "this")!

The folded arms person unfolded theirs very quickly again today.

I managed to guess the "German woman" again this afternoon!

David Tennant didn't seem to put as much paper in his mouth today. (Maybe he'd already had lunch?!!!)

Even though there was a performance of Hamlet tonight, they still performed the song at the end of the interval.

There was no signing after the performance today. My car was parked the other side of the river and as I walked past the fish and chip shop that used to have the photo of the dalek in the window with a sign saying "Exterminate your hunger", I noticed that they still have the dalek but they've changed the sign to say "New nemesis required, apply within"!

I really had to struggle to drive away from Stratford and not join the queue for returns for tonight! A friend had got me tickets to a concert so I felt that I had to attend.

Next performance for me: Hamlet on Saturday (8th)

2nd row at David Tennant's Love's Labour's Lost - 5th November

20th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 12th)

I bought this seat when a load of front and second row ones for tonight went on sale a few months ago. I opted for second row as I'm more comfortable there than first row (and now that I've seen Love's Labour's Lost a few times its just as well as David Tennant doesn't pick the German woman from the second row!).

I worked in the morning and had an easy enough drive up (although the traffic was heavier than last week when it was half term). I checked into my motel at 4.15pm and had a late lunch. I parked in my usual spot and got to the theatre by 7.00pm.

It was lovely being able to see the whites of their eyes tonight but I did notice that more of the play is spoken facing the front compare to Hamlet. The majority of Amado's speeches for example are spoken to the end of the stage, whereas in Hamlet the actors seem to face the sides more.

Tonight the performance just seemed to fly by - I can't believe that it was 3 hours!

When David Tennant walked on stage tonight, he had a good look around before lying down. He then yawned VERY loudly! As he was level with me, it was fascinating watching his breathing pattern! He breathes from very deep (his diaphragm).

There was a slight problem bear me as two people had tickets for the same seat in the front row. An usher came over to sort it out and she didn't seem surprised that a seat had been sold twice! The solution seemed to be that the second person who arrived for the seat would be sat in the usher's seat.

As I was so close I could see how heavy David's head bangs on the stage when Navarre pulls the cushion away. I'm surprised that he doesn't end up with a headache each night! Although I did notice that he raises his head as the cushion is pulled away so he is responsible for the velocity that it hits the stage.

He didn't tree the hat but his face afterwards received a massive laugh!

I discovered tonight that the reason that Amado's side of the stage always claps more than Moth's is because he really encouraged us to clap by telling us to and clapping directly at us. Moth just walks along her side of the stage.

I did notice that when David walked off stage after saying "Adieu" to Boyet, he wanders leisurely along all the stage in character right to the end but once he's out of sight of the audience, he goes back to his usual fast speed of walking!

DT seemed to pick several people in the front row on stage left for the folded arms part (I wonder if they knew?) and they all unfolded their arms quickly. The codpiece guy was an older guy and he obviously found that part hilarious!

David Tennant chose the "German woman" in front of me (I guessed it was her that he would choose!) and a couple of seats up so as he was talking to her, it gave me a wonderful chance to have a good look at his face!

Another chance was as Berowne did the speech about why the 4 of them should break their vows as he stood near me for quite a while (quite a bit of chest hair was showing too at that point!).

I really like watching the way David Tennant holds and uses his hands on stage. He's very expressive with his hands and even when he's not suing them, he holds them very still in a nice position.

When Amado is talking centre stage to Holofnos, I noticed that from where I was sitting, I could hear Moth and Costard talking together quietly. I'd often wondered if people who were supposed to be talking together, actually did and that pair certainly did. I don't think that David Tennant and Mariah Gale did (but from when I've seen her off-stage she seems a bit stand-offish to me).

I do like the way David taps his chest as he say his "sweeter fool" line.

Tonight as DT went to throw his poem into the audience, he dropped it on the stage so he went back and picked it up before throwing it properly.

As DT said his "I who am honest!" line tonight he banged his chest in time with the words.

There was no song tonight after the interval. That may be because it seemed to running slightly late as it didn't finish until 10.18pm tonight.

When David is in his Russian outfit (he had to retie his belt at one point) I noticed tonight that he still has his white shirt underneath as the cuffs were visible at the end of his sleeves.

David Tennant was in direct line with me when he was sitting on stage watching the Worthies and it's fascinating watching his expressions - he really acts the whole time which is so impressive!

The guy who plays the forester and bear has a really strong voice I noticed tonight as I could hear him singing quite clearly!

I have noticed that, other than once, there are rarely any standing ovations for Love's Labour's Lost. At the end of Hamlet there are usually lots of people standing. I don't believe that that is the only indication of whether you've enjoyed a performance or not so I don't feel it necessary to feel that you have to stand but it's interesting that standing ovations are so rare for this production.

Afterwards I went to the stage door and it wasn't too manic as the schools are back. The security guard (the older one) was inside and jokingly started to lower the blind! David Tennant came running out and signed for about 2 minutes as usual. I couldn't hear all that he said but he did say a couple of times that he couldn't sign certain things. It then appeared that someone wanted a photo taken with him so he said that he would if it was quick and the camera was ready. He then went back to that person but had to ask which camera he was supposed to be looking at! He also said his "Are you alright down there" to one child. With a "thank you all for coming" he then ran back inside!

It was lovely to only have to return to my motel after a really great evening. The only downside was that I didn't sleep too well as I was still buzzy!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost tomorrow (6th)

Hamlet - Saturday 1st November (evening)

53rd performance of Hamlet (my 15th)

Only a few short notes tonight.

I was one along from my "usual" seat tonight - H6 instead of H5 so I knew that David Tennant would have to walk past me in one scene!

As Patrick Stewart clapped David Tennant on the arms when Hamlet decides to stay in Ellsinore, he spilt some of his drink on DT's hand so he licked it off again!

Orphelia didn't pick up all the torn letters tonight so Hamlet picked up one and put it in a back pocket of his jeans. When it came to the part where he usually pulls out Polunius's tie, instead he stuffed the envelope into his jacket.

He didn't tidy the bed tonight like he usually does.

I didn't notice anyone make any reaction after the "Am I a coward?" line.

People say that David Tennant smells really nice (I was too preoccupied to think about sniffing when I managed to have a conversation with him once!) so tonight when he walked by, I thought I'd see if I could get any aroma from him. Unfortunately as he walked by, the smoke from the "army" was very strong and that was all I could smell!

It was a wild drive home as it was very windy and foggy in places in Warwickshire and Oxfordshire but impoved the further south I drove.

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost on Wednesday (5th)

David Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost - 1st November (Matinee)

19th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 11th)

Photo from Cast Talk last night

It was nice just driving for about 20 minutes to the theatre this morning after a good nights sleep! As I expected, I had to park the other side of the river but I got to my seat by 12.45pm. I was in H4 so I had a perfect, uninterrupted view apart from when David Tennant walked on stage as at that point, there were loads of people in the central aisle getting to their seats! I did notice though that he spoke to both Dumaine and Longaville before lying down.

DT missed the tree when he threw his hat today but his facial expression received a good laugh!

As David put Costard's rope over his shoulder (to lead him off stage), he knocked his own hat off his head!

The folded arms person unfolded theirs very quickly today!

When David got to the German clock part, he was standing in the middle of the stage so he walked to stage right and jumped off the stage! He'd spotted an empty seat and sat down on it with his feet up on the stage. The other thing that he'd spotted was that the lady sitting in the seat next door was taking notes so with a "let me see" he took her pad and pen and went back on stage with it! He then stood there saying his words and ticking what she'd written! He also put a cross against something and signed it before he threw it back to her! It was amazing that he was so relaxed and confident on stage to do that!

When we went to the first Love's Labour's Lost, one of my friends was upstairs and spotted that some of the cast do a short performance in the foyer. As they come into the theatre, I assumed that they were doing that instead but after what they said at the Cast Talk last week, I realised that they still perform out there too so I stayed out to watch. They gathered in the middle and sang a couple of songs (a couple of them were dressed as horses) before we all followed them into the theatre.

It was a great crowd tonight who seemed to clap in different places (and after different scenes) today.

There was no signing this afternoon. I didn't stay as I couldn't see any barriers out (probably due to it being half term).

I then had a late lunch at my usual spot - I like this life! A;though I'm sad that the Stratford-Upon-Avon run is nearly at an end (as the Courtyard Theatre is a wonderful intimate place to see a play), at least I can console myself wiith the fact that I'm seeing Hamlet in more in London.

Next performance for me: Hamlet tonight! (1st)

Love's Labour's Lost and Cast Talk - Friday 31st October 2008

18th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 10th)

Photo posted on OG

It was a tough drive up today, partly because I was quite tired but also there was a jam on the M25 around the M3 so I turned off and arrived only about 30 minutes later than I would have done. I checked into my hotel by 4.30pm and had a late lunch.

I got to the theatre by 7.00pm and my seat was in row G on the aisle which was just as well because there was a large lady with lots of hair in front of me so I had to look around her!

It was a great crowd tonight who laughed more than other audiences and clapped after virtually every scene too.

When Berowne came out tonight he spoke briefly to Dumaine and Longaville before lying down.

Tonight David Tennant managed to get the hat onto the tree again! Last time it landed on the branch that is vertical but tonight it perched on the long branch. He received a round of applause and smiled before saying his next line!

The arm folded person dropped their arms immediately. When Berowne indicated to "a woman" on stage right, she stood up and shook his hand which made him smile!

Dumaine sang the song perfectly tonight.

They sang the song at the end of the interval.

When the performance ended, there was no announcement (although there was a sign on the front door) but most people just stayed in their seats. I moved up to the fourth row so I could see clearly. About 6 or 7 of the actors came out initially and then others joined them later. I was disappointed that neither Dumaine or Longaville were there but Navarre was and he was funnier than I expected. Also there was Rosalyn, Oliver Ford Davies, Costard, Keith Osborn and some of the ensemble who do not speak in LLL. The Q&A was introduced by the same lady who did the Hamlet one and she said that they didn't think that David Tennant would be joining them as his father was there tonight. (At this point Costard joked that he was leaving!) However he did come out after about 10 minutes (wearing a A & F grey sweatshirt and tight blue jeans) and said "Sorry I'm late"! He then sat on the ground (even when a seat became available). I like the fact that he's so unaffected, although the RSC lady did say that loads more hands went up with questions!

Even though DT was there they continued to have quite a few questions to the whole cast but then one little boy asked David about getting the hat on the tree! David joked that he got it on the tree every performance and never missed! He then said that he never did it in any rehearsal and he's only ever managed it once before (I was there then too!). He also said that it receives a larger laugh when he misses!

One little girl asked DT about all the lines he has to remember and he said that it was just like homework that you have to do.

The first question tonight was about who plays the bear outfit! It's the tall guy who also plays the forester.

The cast did say that Gregory Doran allowed the cast to come up with a lot of the way that LLL was played as he hadn't thought too much about it before rehearsals!

Someone asked David if he was aware of the audience when he delivers his soliquees and he said that he was very aware of everyone. He also said that he's never received a reaction yet when he says the "am I a coward?" line in Hamlet.

The final question was whether the cast think that the 4 couples would get together again in a years time. Rosalyn thinks that she and Berowne wouldn't (DT agreed) and then Keith spoke about Love's Labour's Won possibly turning into Much Ado About Nothing and DT said that it made sense about Benedict being based on Berowne.

It was so nice just having to drive for about 20 minutes to my bed as I was shattered!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost tomorrow (1st)

David Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost - Thursday 30th October (evening)

17th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 9th)

I got to my seat by 7.05pm in time to see Dumaine and Longaville come out. I don't know if the props people don't know or whether it's part of the act, but they always put both cushions on top of each other so Dumaine moves one to his side of the stage.

It was a good crowd tonight (on the young side although I was sitting with some RSC types - the woman next to me even understood all the Latin!). My seat was C26 (which squeaks so I had to sit very still). It's at the front of the stage so I had a brilliant view!

When DT threw his hat on the tree (it missed) he looked as though he was about to laugh as the audience's reaction was really good so he took a sip of drink to stop himself!

The folded arms person dropped their arms immediately tonight.

I felt really sorry for the guy who plays Dumaine tonight as he forgot the words of the song! He tried to remember and tried that one line about 3 times (once looking in his book / case as though the words were there) but in the end just moved to the line where the other three join in! He received a bigger round of applause than normal afterwards.

Another mistake was that Armado obviously didn't have a key with him as he just touched hands with Moth (the key is quite large). Later, after Moth returned to the stage and the light was on Costard, I saw that she handed a letter to Armado so that he had one to give to Costard! He must have had the Letter already as he then pulled out two!

When Costard did the rapping part, one of his hands were out of the rope so he had to put them back in at the end of the song!

David Tennant stuffed loads of paper into his mouth tonight! That scene is really hilarious but I do wish that Navarre would wait longer before he starts talking as people are still laughing and he has his back to the audience so we can not hear what he says at all.

After the performance DT came to the front of the stage and asked for quiet and said that they were going to do a collection for the Actors fund and, as we probably had never been asked for money before by a guy with an owl on his head, he would get Oliver Ford Davies to explain! He explained that it was a charity to collect money to look after old actors and that a week a year theatres do this collection. David then said that if we like competition, they had raised £3,200.81 after a performance of Hamlet last week and that if we raised £3,200.82 it would make Patrick Stewart really annoyed! He then ran off stage and didn't collect himself so I doubt that helped much as last week he was signing for £5 and collected loads.

Apparently Cameron Mackintosh was in the audience tonight.

I then had my usual drive home but I didn't find it too tough as I was still on quite a high! I got home at 1.00am and to sleep by 1.30am and still bounded out of bed at 6.00am!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost tomorrow (31st)

Hamlet - Thursday 30th October (matinee)

52nd performance of Hamlet (my 14th)

Photo from OG

Thankfully as it was half term my drive up here today wasn't too bad considering it was rush hour. The drive is supposed to take me 2.5 hours but today it took me about 3 hours.

I stopped for a late breakfast and drove into Stratford but my usual spot was taken (as I expected) so I parked the other side of the river.

The audience tonight were a mixture of old people (most on coach trips!) and children on their half term.

The guy I sat next to had queued for his seat that morning for only 90 minutes and had got on one row E for himself and one in the front row for his wife! (I bought mine when they first went on sale through the RSC postal application.)

As I'm seeing 6 plays this week (wonderful!), it'll just be a few notes about the performances.

After the reception scene I noticed that Laertes wasn't looking where he was going as he walked off stage and he really bumped into Hamlet - he gave David Tennant quite a shove!

Someone took a flash photo as DT walked on stage in his red T-shirt for the "To be or not to be" speech.

David just threw the book down in the scene so it stayed in the middle of the stage.

After the "pickers and stealers" line Hamlet repeated his "the grass grows" line 3 times as Rosencrantz didn't get it. (I've seen him repeat it a couple of times in a few performances.)

Although I was sitting in Row E I could still hear DT running around the back of the theatre at one point - he's certainly heavy on his feet, especially considering how slight he is!

When the attention was off him, at one point Tom Davey bent down and picked up one of Ophelia's letters that was still on the stage and put it in his pocket.

When Hamlet said the "I beseech you" line, he did it in the funny voice again but today turned the next line totally bitter (about being played upon) which was very effective as it showed both sides of Hamlet's character.

David Tennant stood up and walked down the steps for the "do you see yonder cloud" joke with Polonius.

The bedroom scene was really emotional again today. David held the newspaper (with the photo of Claudius on it) as he did the "tame blood" speech. When he then spoke abut Claudius, he spat at the paper!

As Hamlet went to urn the light back on behind the bed, he spoke a line this afternoon.

DT said one word wrong in the scene before Osric arrives. (He said good instead of could and corrected himself.)

As Hamlet died, he turned his head slightly more towards Horatio.

David Tennant's smile is always much wider in the bows after Hamlet than it is after LLL!

There was no signing after the performance this afternoon because the security guard said that David was doing a performance tonight. As he has signed at that time before, the people around me thought it was because of the announcement last night.

Afterwards I went to my usual restaurant for a late lunch before tonight's performance! On the way I saw the guy who plays the owl puppeteer (Samuel Dutton) in the town.

Next performance for me: LLL tonight

David Tennant in Hamlet - Monday 27th October

50th performance of Hamlet (my 13th)

Photo from OG

I had a seat in my favourite section of the theatre tonight - stage right in the circle as Hamlet favours that side more and you can see all his emotion SO clearly! Plus the seat isn't too far above their heads!

I had a lovely drive up to Stratford. As it was half term, the motorways were much clearer than normal.

I was worried that as Saturday's performance was so emotional that tonight's wouldn't be but that worry was totally unfounded as David Tennant put on an AMAZING performance! He seems to have improved 10 fold in the past couple of weeks (maybe because he's only doing performances now and no rehearsals???).

There were a few mishaps tonight (one thing I really like about live theatre!) but they still added to the night.

I think they overfilled Hamlet's glass of wine (and he didn't have a drink of it) so he protected it with his hands whenever Claudius or Gertrude went over to him. As Claudius slapped him on his arms, it did spill and when the attention was away from him, David licked his hand to dry it. He also shook his hand to dry it some more before he touched hands with Ophelia.

The "too, too solid flesh" speech was SO emotional tonight (and long). DT put his face (not his head) on the ground at the first part of the speech.

They had lots of blood on stage tonight or rather Hamlet did in both sections.

It was interesting sitting where I was as I could see the actors walking around the theatre to get to their entrances and exits. At the end of the play both David and Edward ran full pelt along the corridor (almost in a race!) even though DT doesn't come out until the end! Also when the doctor rolls Hamlet off stage, he then immediately walked off leaving DT to get out of the chair himself!

When Hamlet threw the book on the stage tonight it balanced perfect at the front of the stage, half on and half off!

Tonight Hamlet tore up the letters one by one.

During the scene when Hamlet meets Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, DT's hair looked quite a mess although later it looked really good!

It was fascinating watching David Tennant during the player king's speech (rehearsal) tonight as he watches him so intently!

David Tennant coughed once on stage (when the attention wasn't on him) but his voice sounded fine.

The bedroom scene was just amazing tonight! Both of them acted SO well! At the part when Penny holds onto David's waist on the bed, he totally leaned back only held by her! Later in the scene DT got up on the dressing table stool.

Tonight DT said the "blow it to the moon" line as he usually does. (On Saturday evening he'd said it in an aggressive manner)

As Hamlet sent the page to get the recorders he went as though to kick her receding backside!

When Hamlet did the "pickers and stealers" line tonight, one of either his or Rosencrantz's buttons flew off and along the stage.

Tonight Hamlet said the "I beseech you" line in an aggressive manner and not in a funny voice as he usually does.

In the fight scene, in the part when there are people holding both Hamlet and Laertes, Edward dropped his sword and had to pick it up.

When DT came out for his bow by himself, several girls (there were lots of young fangirls there tonight) threw roses onto the stage! He put one between his teeth and then when the rest of the cast came back on stage he made a point of giving both Gertrude and Ophelia a rose - he's such a gentleman!

I went to the stage door and DT came out quite quickly. There was quite a large crowd there tonight (as it's half term). To one person he said "Hello again" and to another "I love you too"!

Afterwards Tom Davey followed me through the churchyard!

Next performance for me: Hamlet on Thursday (30th)

David Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost - Saturday 25th October (evening)

16th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 8th)

Photo by unknown photographer of DT at stage door tonight (posted by slittle on OG)

After a nice late lunch / early dinner, it was time to head back to the theatre to see David Tennant in Love's Labour's Lost this time! I've decided that I do prefer seeing Hamlet and then Love's Labour's Lost rather than the other way around, although the RSC are performing them more often with LLL followed by Hamlet.

My seat tonight was in the stalls and was by the aisle on stage left that they use to enter and exit. The thing that struck me was how long actors stay in character as they all did until they were totally out of sight of the audience. I also didn't realise that before they enter the stage proper, Costard and Jaquentte are arguing about whether or not to give Berowne's letter to the King and the others. Costard doesn't want them to hand over the letter.

As I'm seeing 6 performances this week, these will all be quick notes.

David Tennant's expressions in the first scene especially are just amazing, especially when he has his "just woken up" look!

Berowne didn't get the hat on the branch tonight.

I couldn't see the folded arms person today but from all the laughing, I would guess that they unfolded their arms quite quickly!

From my seat I could hear some things as the actors were waking along the outer part of the theatre to enter the stage. For example all the French initially entered at my aisle and I could hear all the dresses swishing behind me! Also Longaville dropped some of his papers I think from what I could hear.

I just love the way the "I who am honest!" line is delivered! Even though I know it, I still laugh a lot at that line and at Edward Bennett's facial expressions in that part. He plays the King a lot better than he plays Laureates in Hamlet I think.

After the interval they did the two dances and sang the song too.

It was interesting to see David Tennant turn around from running off stage to go back for the second bow and, as he always does for LLL, go to the back of the stage for that bow. He even stood aside waiting for the other actors to come on stage (from backstage) before he took his place on stage. You wouldn't get many main actors doing that.

The more I see Loves Labours Lost the more I enjoy it. Whereas with Hamlet I loved it right from the start, this play has had to grow on me gradually but it has (although the Amardo scenes still bore me at times). I think it's a shame that they're only doing 24 performances of the production.

Afterwards I went to the stage door and David Tennant came out for a couple of minutes to sign things. It's really lovely watching him interacting with the people there although it's disappointing that most of the people on the barrier itself didn't actually see the performance but just come along for the signing. We've spoken about that before that it's a shame that they don't restrict it so that only people with tickets can get there (it is on RSC property after all) but I guess that would take too much to arrange. I didn't take any photos tonight as I didn't think I'd surpass the one I took last Saturday!

I was totally wired for the two and a half hour drive home last night after a really great day!

Next performance for me: Hamlet on Monday (27th)

David Tennant in Hamlet - Saturday 25th October (matinee)

49th performance of Hamlet (my 12th)

This was the 12th time that I've seen David Tennant in Hamlet and it was by far the best performance as his intensity was just amazing today!

Unfortunately I didn't get a ticket for this performance when they first went on sale and, as I'm going to most of the weekend performances, I wanted to go to this one too so I even thought about getting up at 5.00am and queuing for returns. I then decided that, as I was already going to Love's Labour's Lost tonight, that I wouldn't attend but by total luck I saw someone advertising a ticket on Gumtree last night! It was advertised for £100 ono but I offered £50 and arranged to meet the seller at the theatre. It wasn't a great seat as it was in the gallery but thankfully it was a brilliant performance! All of Hamlet's soliloquies were delivered perfectly. Afterwards, during the bows, David Tennant looked especially happy so I think he realised what a great performance it was this afternoon.

As I said before DT's acting in this performance was the best I've seen. It seemed as though every scene he was in was intense and played it perfectly. For example he left a long gap between the first and second lines of the "To be or not to be" speech. The only complaint I would have about that speech was that from my seat, I couldn't see his face at the start of the speech as one of the chandeliers obscured it which I found funny!

David Tennant had some problems with the book today! (When I saw Hamlet last weekend, Ophelia dropped the book at the start of the nunnery speech so they left it there.) Today he dropped the book twice when he was with Ophelia and then when he threw the book, it skidded right off the stage and ended up in the aisle by the third row! If you watch DT's eyes you'll see that he watches where it lands so today he got off stage to collect it. He then realised that one of the pages in the book was loose and torn!

Today from my advantage point in the sky, I could definitely see Horatio palm the blood to Hamlet at the end of the sword duel.

Unlike last Saturday, Hamlet didn't put his jacket over his head when he saw the ghost in the bedroom scene.

I saw a few of the actors outside the theatre today. Roderick Smith walked past my car (as usual!) on his way to the theatre. Later, after Hamlet, I collected something from my car and was walking back towards the town centre when I saw Roderick Smith, Tom Davey and someone else (who I think was Keith Osborn but I didn't really look closely) walking in the other direction away from the theatre. Later I passed Tom Davey as he was walking back to the theatre for LLL. (I briefly spoke to him too as we bumped into each other!)

I'm so glad that I got that ticket and didn't queue as when I drove past at about 11.00am there were loads of people queuing and the queue for returns stretched out to Southern Lane when I went in at 12.45pm. Inside there were 5 seats free in Row D on stage right. It's such a shame when people don't return them to the RSC.

After Hamlet I went round to the stage door and although they had the barriers out, a RSC lady came out to say that DT would not be coming out to sign which was a pity (especially as he only stays about 2 minutes anyway).

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost tonight!

Hamlet - Saturday 18th October (evening)

45th performance of Hamlet (my 11th)

After a nice wander around Stratford-Upon-Avon (they were putting up the Christmas decorations already!) and some dinner I moved my car to my usual spot and, as usual, Roderick Smith walked past my car again!

I got to the theatre by 6.50pm. My seat was up in the Circle again but in row C. It was in the same block so just a couple of rows behind my matinee seat and a couple of seats across. Technically it was a reduced view seat as there was a pillar within my sight but I only had to move my head about three inches and I could see everything.

As much as I like Love's Labour's Lost, I was really looking forward to this performance as I do enjoy Hamlet! It was as great as I remembered too! It's been over three weeks since I've seen it but there was only one real change that I noticed and that was that in the bedroom scene David Tennant took his jacket off the bed and put it over his head when the ghost appeared.

I've been learning the "Now I am alone" speech (which is a very long speech!) and it really helped watching the actions that DT matches to the words.

I went to a couple of talks at the Cheltenham Literature Festival last week and one of them was the Shakespearean actor Tim Piggott-Smith who had seen both Hamlet and Love's Labour's Lost and he spoke about the lines in Hamlet just before the duel that say "If it be now, 'tis not to come; if it be not to come, it will be now; if it be not now, yet it will come: the readiness is all". He said about how poignant that speech was and that all but one word are just of one syllable.

During the scene when Hamlet is tied to the chair, I thought that Patrick Stewart was going to lose it as it was obvious that he was trying hard not to laugh after the "In Heaven!" line.

Patrick Stewart was slightly croaky and coughed once tonight.

As the glass doors were closing at one point, I could see the bed being carried off stage!

Afterwards I went to the stage door and it was a nice controlled crowd. I didn't leave until after all 3 encores but from then until the time that DT went back into the theatre was less than 8 minutes! As usual David was great with all the crowd. I think it's so nice of him to come out after the performances as I can hear how much people appreciate it.

It was brilliant to be able to see both plays in the one day so I certainly didn't have any problem staying awake on the drive home and I managed to get back before 1.30am!

Next performance for me: Love's Labour's Lost next Saturday (25th)

Love's Labour's Lost - Saturday 18th October (matinee)

14th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 7th)

Not surprisingly I couldn't get to my usual parking place when I arrived in Stratford at about 11.00am, so I parked the other side of the river and walked to the theatre. Thankfully it was a lovely day for October.

Just as I arrived at the theatre Patrick Stewart was arriving! (I seem to keep seeing him in civvies!) I heard later that he watched the performance.

I bought my seat online from the RSC after tickets went on sale online last year so I was in the front row of the Circle (at the horseshoe end) which was a good view. It also meant that I could see David Tennant waiting in the wings to go on stage for one scene!

The audience took slightly longer to warm up than last night but I really didn't expect that they would be as good as last night's crowd. It was still a receptive audience though.

The highlight of the performance was that Berowne threw his hat and it actually landed on the upright part of the tree! I don't know if David Tennant or the crowd were more surprised! A cheer went up and then most people started clapping! When it quietened down David said "every time!" which started people laughing again. He then really struggled to get his own composure before he could say his next line!

There were mainly women in the front row today so DT hose one of them with folded arms and she undid hers quite quickly. The codpiece guy obviously found it quite funny!

Being up in the circle, I could see DT really clearly when he was in the tree - his facial expressions are amazing and I just love the way he delivers the "I, who am honest!" line.

Today David didn't walk around the stage when he said the part about swearing on a book.

I really think that Edward Bennet (who plays Navarre in LLL and Lauretes in Hamlet) acts far better in this play than Hamlet.

As I was higher up I noticed today that there is someone up in the roof who manually lowers and raises the swing whenever Boyet clicks his fingers.

As it was a matinee, they just did the two dances and no song immediately after the interval.

I think it's really great how Berowne, Rosaline, Navarre and some of the others move to the back of the stage for the second round of bows. It really seems as though they are an ensemble cast.

Even though I was up in the balcony I managed to get to the stage door before DT came out. It was really crowded but thankfully things were calmer than other times I've seen. I stood in my usual place and actually took a couple of photos - one of which is above and I'm really happy with it!

Next performance of Hamlet for me: Tonight!!!

Next performance of Love's Labour's Lost for me: next Saturday (25th)

Love's Labour's Lost - Friday 17th October (Evening)

Photo by unknown photographer as it was posted on OG.

13th performance of Love's Labour's Lost (my 6th)

I thought this was probably the best performance of Love's Labour's Lost that I've seen...or at least the audience were!

I only bought this ticket a couple of days ago when it suddenly appeared on the RSC website and I was lucky enough to get a seat in the front couple of rows, right next to the stage right aisle that is used the most. (As it was at an angle, it meant that I could really see well too!)

I worked the morning and left at noon to get home by 1.15pm. I left home at 2.00pm and, despite a couple of broken down vehicles and accidents where the traffic went slow on the M25, I got to my motel on the M40 at exacactly 5.00pm. I had a late lunch and left at 6.15pm. I managed to park in my usual spot and walked to the theatre.

Tonight's performance lasted about 5 minutes longer than normal as they had to keep waiting for everybody to finish laughing and clapping! Right from when DT's head hit the stage, people were laughing and during his first speech, during one of the "I hope is not enrolled there" lines David Tennant had to pause between "enrolled" and "there" for about 10 seconds while the laughter subsided!

From where I was sitting I could see David Tennant standing at the back of the aisle waiting for his cue to go on before his "What's the name of the lady in the cap" speech.

The person DT chose for the folded arms part immediately unfolded them tonight! When he went onto the codpiece part the guy actually looked down into his lap and DT made a face as though it was impressive!

David's shirt was open a long way tonight by the end of the first act!

I really like the long scene with the tree and the 4 of them finding out that they've all betrayed their oaths. Today I could see DT's facial expressions in the tree really well.

As Berowne said his "I who am honest!" line, even though I've heard it loads of times, I really roared with laughter and it occurred to me that I didn't think I'd ever be laughing that much at a Shakespeare line!

The Russians part was really funny again. Dumaine and Longville's voices are hilarious, especially Longville as he sounds far more Pakistani than Russian!

There was a really funny bit when Costard came out as Great Pomphey as he obviously said something wrong (I don't know his speech that well) so there was a gap before he said something else and then they all laughed (David Tennant and Tom Davey especially roared with laughter!).

Afterwards I went to the backstage door and it was very crowded but thankfully there was no pushing and they were better controlled than the first night. I stood where I usually do as I like watching and listening but unfortunately the people around me kept talking amongst themselves so I could hardly hear what was being said. When David did come to my end I heard him wish someone a happy birthday and then take the time to talk to a child and asked them their name and if they were being squashed! It was really sweet to see!

He came out VERY quickly tonight! Probably within 4 minutes of leaving the stage but I did hear that apparently they clean their clothes every night after the performance (sometimes the dressers are there until 2.00am!) so I guess he just dumps the clothes and gets changed. (I was also told that apparently the LLL costumes went over budget so most of the non-speakers wear clothes from the RSC archives.)

I walked back to my car and it was nice just driving down the motorway a short distance to my hotel.

It's a shame that they're already halfway through the run of this play!