Hamlet - Friday 26th September (Stratford)

42nd Performance of Hamlet (my 10th)

Photo of DT at the stage door tonight by Antontroy Briscoe

As I only booked this ticket yesterday(!) it meant that I couldn't leave work until 2.00pm but I parked my car as near to the station as I could so I set off by 3.00pm. Everything was fine until I was at about junction 7 of the M25 when there were signs that there was an accident ahead and junctions 10 to 14 were congested! I turned off at junction 9 and started going the route I've driven before but those roads were congested too so I got very delayed. I resigned myself to the fact that I would have to watch the first half of Hamlet on the screen in the foyer of the Courtyard Theatre but, due to some nifty driving on the M40, I managed to get to Stratford by 6.45pm (shattered!).

I parked in my usual spot but, not surprisingly, I didn't see any of the RSC actors tonight (I expect they were already in the theatre by that time). I collected my ticket from the box office and found my seat.

I was in Row M which is further back than I have been before but it was interesting to be able to see it from that view. The circle seats are over those seats so I couldn't see all the chandeliers properly but it did have the advantage that you can hear the actors changing and getting ready to walk on stage (especially David Tennant!). I was near the aisle where they mainly enter too so that gave an interesting perspective tonight, especially as several of them talk as they leave the stage (I don't know if it's in character or not).

The main downside of that seat was that there wasn't a lot of leg room (and I need to stretch out my knees at times) but it was good to be able to see all the stage area. I could hear quite clearly too (other than once Ophelia's lines weren't quite loud enough) but I did feel sorry for the people sitting next to me as my stomach grumbled very loudly just as Ophelia was being lowered into her grave because I hadn't managed to eat since lunchtime! I also VERY badly needed to cough during Hamlet's "Too, too solid flesh" soliquoy and I really didn't want to do that (as the rest of the audience were actually being quite at that point) so I swallowed constantly and managed not to cough but it meant that I couldn't concentrate on the speech and I had tears running down my face by not coughing!

All opinions of a play are totally subjective but tonight seemed to me to have a big "end of school term" feel on stage! Due to Love's Labour's Lost opening on Thursday, Hamlet isn't being played for over two weeks (although I think it's only Patrick Stewart and Penny Downie who are not in LLL too) so that probably contributed to it. I just noticed things like when Hamlet has his arms around Rosencrantz and Guildenstern just as Polonius is about to tell Hamlet that the players have arrived, that David Tennant gave a bigger than usual kick in the air with his legs but there were several examples like that.

The other noticeable thing was that one of the company was missing tonight. I first noticed it when Hamlet has just "stowed" Polonius' body and Rosencrantz, Guildenstern and two soldiers come on stage to attempt to arrest him. At that point, Hamlet turns round and the other 4 bump into each other. That was when I noticed that there was only one soldier. Later, when Hamlet is tied up in the chair, there are usually two soldiers who run off to look for the body ("he will stay till you come") but tonight it was just one. There were also only 22 players on stage for the bows whereas usually there are 23.

The audience took a while to warm up tonight but by the end they were laughing a lot at the jokes, so much so that a couple of times the actors had to wait to say their next line!

There were several late-comers allowed into the theatre which I haven't noticed happening before.

The book was only thrown a few feet today on the stage.

As DT leapt onto the wicker basket, it rolled a few inches.

From where I was sitting, it wasn't easy to distinguish that DT was whistling during the National Anthem - he really doesn't whistle very loudly!

Tonight David Tennant threw his jacket over Gertrude's bed so that it ended up on the floor.

The match was lit for quite a while - I'm always worried about him burning his fingers on it.

For me, tonight the three hours just flew by!

DT took two attempts to get his recorder in his pocket.

DT repeated the "grass is greener" line tonight. After he said it the second time Rosencrantz opened his arms as though he didn't understand it before DT said his next line.

Patrick Stewart's voice was a lot better tonight than it has been for about 3 weeks. I don't think he coughed once.

There's a rehearsal photo in the Hamlet programme of David Tennant in a prone position with his feet and one hand on the ground and his other arm in the air. Tonight, for the first time, I realised where that photo comes from as I haven't seen him in that position on stage before. It was during the graveside scene when he's getting emotional about Ophelia's funeral.

When Hamlet snatched up his rucksack (and skull) tonight he didn't pick it up correctly so he had to go back to collect it!

From where I was sitting tonight, I could hear DT running behind several times (he's not very light on his feet!).

It was weird to think that DT was getting changed about 8 feet behind where I was sitting a few times!

Someone took a photo during the bows but they were soon pounced on by an usher.

Because of where I was sitting tonight, I noticed that after they ran off stage after the second bow, DT stopped at row J (he waited with his hand on the iron barrier for about 2 seconds) before he went back for his third bow.

Tonight they were giving out glow lights as we left (it was in preparation of the Olympics in 2012) and it was still glowing when I got home! There were also a couple of pink spotlights moving in the sky over the theatre.

Afterwards I went to the stage door (I stood back in my usual spot) and it was a good five minutes or so before David Tennant came out. As usual he bounded out (leaving the security guard behind)! I always find it fascinating watching him signing and interacting with fans. I did hear him say that it had been a long week and today was the final rehearsal for LLL (they have tech rehearsals next week before it opens on Thursday). Apparently he said that he will be doing LLL in his natural accent but I didn't hear that. Somebody gave him something un-RSC to sign and he just politely apologised and said that he wasn't allowed to sign it. Someone asked for something that I couldn't make out and he said that he couldn't because of the barrier. Someone else also said that they were going to South Africa and David said that he'd never been there but he'd heard that it was a lovely country. Tonight once he went right round the barrier he signed a few more back to his right which he doesn't usually do. After he ran back inside all the blinds were put down so it was obvious that nobody else was coming back.

I walked back to my car and set off at about 11.30pm. As I'd had a long week (I've worked 55 hours this week) I didn't manage to make it home all the way without stopping so I dosed in the car for about half an hour and got home at about 2.30am.

Next performance for me: first night of Love's Labour's Lost on Thursday!!!

I get lucky!

I was SO lucky today as I got back from lunch early and decided to look on the RSC website for any tickets and, to my amazement, they had one single seat for tomorrow night!

I've looked at that site loads of times with no luck so I was astounded to see a ticket! It's not a great seat but it's in the stalls and I really fancied seeing Hamlet again (and I'm not booked until late October, although there is LLL in between).

Thankfully, as I've worked so many extra hours, my boss said that I can finish a couple of hours early at 2.00pm so I should make it okay!

Hamlet and MND - Saturday 20th September

39th Performance of Hamlet (my 9th)

Photo of DT at the stage door this afternoon (Photographer unknown as it was posted on OG)

We woke at about 7.00am and after breakfast my friend went to join the queue in Stratford to try to get a return for the matinee of Hamlet today. Thankfully she was lucky and got a good one in the stalls soon after 9.30am so I drove into Stratford to join her. I parked in my usual spot and we saw Tom Davey (who plays Guildenstern) being asked for directions as we walked back into the town proper. I had a few things to get so we parted while I found the Post Office. As I returned to my car I saw Roderick Smith (Voltemand) walking down his road again.

I met my friend for a cup of tea outside the cafe at The Courtyard as it was a lovely sunny day and then we took our seats in the theatre. I'd booked my seat almost a year ago now so I was back in my "usual" H5 seat so I had a totally unobstructed view!

When I got to my seat I remembered why I had booked today - because it was a captioned performance! Thankfully it wasn't too invasive as it was just a neon board by the side of the stage but I wonder if it was distracting for the actors when they were facing that way. Certainly it didn't look as though it affected any of them.

However I did notice that several times Patrick Stewart got his words wrong and one time when either Rosencrantz or Guildenstern did too, the guy who was doing the board didn't have a clue where they were as he scrolled for a while to find the correct line!

I did find it interesting though that they put up things like "machinery noise" at the beginning when Marcellus is on patrol. They also put up "very French" for the part where Hamlet says "um-bar-ge"!

I noticed this afternoon that during the reception part (second scene) until Hamlet speaks, he just stares at a spot on the floor absolutely perfectly still.

The people next to me had their legs stretched out as David Tennant walked through our aisle so he had to step over them. I'm surprised that he hasn't fallen over somebody's feet yet!

After the play my friend wanted to try to get her programme signed for her daughter so we went to the stage door. I stood back and took a couple of photos while she went into the crowd and managed to get David Tennant's autograph after he bounded out!

After the performance my friend left to drive home so I had some dinner and walked back to my car as it was too soon to go into the theatre. Of course, I saw Roderick Smith walking down his road again!

In the evening I went to see Midsummer Night's Dream which was really funny. It took me a while to get over the fact that they were mainly talking in rhyme and that it was a comedy but the scene with the wall was hilarious! It was interesting too to see lots of the Hamlet actors playing different parts.

My seat was in the circle on an aisle so I had a couple of actors standing beside me in the second half.

MND is shorter than Hamlet so I managed to get home at about midnight.

Next performance for me: first night of Love's Labour's Lost on 2/10 and my next perforamce of Hamlet is 18/10!!!

Hamlet - Friday 19th September

38th Performance of Hamlet (my 8th)

I booked a seat for tomorrow's matinee performance as soon as the RSC online booking opened. I then managed to get a ticket for Midnight Summer's Night Dream for tomorrow evening recently from the RSC too but about a week ago somebody posted online that they had a pair of tickets spare for tonight's performance. As they were selling them for face value and my friend was already going to be in Stratford tonight we leapt at the chance of having them!

I worked in the morning and drove up afterwards. The traffic was a bit heavy (as it was a Friday) but I had time to stop for a late lunch at my usual place - they even know what I like now!

I got to Stratford at about 6.40pm and parked in the convenient place I found on 5th September. I discovered that Roderick Smith (who plays Voltemand, the Captain, the Doctor and the Play Prologue) lives in that road as I was using his drive to reverse into as he came out!

Our seats were right over the stage in the first row of the circle and I wish I had sat there before as they were brilliant seats! The thing that struck me the most was how brilliant David Tennant's facial expressions were during the whole play! That was especially apparent during the scene when Horatio tells him that they saw the ghost of his father the previous evening. He went from shock to disbelief to amazement all in one movement - it was just brilliant to watch!

From where we were sitting we could see the actors walking along parts of the walkways (behind the audience) at various times.

As DT walked off stage from the part when Hamlet decides not to stab Claudius, he knocked the beside lamp off the table that was waiting in the wings! A hand came from behind the curtain and picked it up!

From where we were sitting we could see the letters that are read on stage. I couldn't read the exact words but I noticed that when Polonius read the one from Hamlet to Ophelia he certainly read out more words than were written on the piece of paper! However, when Claudius read the two letters that Hamlet wrote (one to him and one to his mother) certainly the second letter had one additional word at the end of it!

One part that really impressed me was that in one part of the play Gertrude turns her back to most of the audience and reads a sheet of paper that her "secretary" gives her. At this point Penny Downie is probably only facing about 20 people and yet her eyes followed the lines on the paper exactly as though she was reading it for the first time!

During the bedroom scene David Tennant almost fell off the bed so he stepped off and then stepped back on again!

As the mirrors opened for the second scene (just after they've all waved) we could see from our seats a glimpse of the shattered mirror reflected in another mirror!

After Hamlet lit the match tonight to look at Polonius the match didn't stay alight for very long tonight!

DT threw the letters all over the stage tonight. So much so that even Rosencrantz picked up part of one later in the play.

At the end of the play, when the lights were all down, the guy next to me said a whisper loud enough to be a stage whisper "they've missed out the end part"!

Patrick Stewart's voice was better today although he did cough during one of his lines.

The sword fighting was spectacular tonight looking at it from above!

I could see David Tennant's face during the play within the play part today and he mouths the words that the poisoner says (presumably the extra part that Hamlet wrote in). Tonight he was also taping on his chest in time to the music.

It was fascinating watching DT during the Pirus speech tonight as he just sat there totally wrapped up in the words watching the actor.

Before the performance started we tried to work out where the grave would open but we couldn't see the join at all. It was actually a lot deeper than we expected too. As the gravedigger was laughing so much at one point, he managed to move the outside of the grave a bit.

The audience were really great tonight and laughed a lot, so much so that at times the actors had to wait before they could deliver their next line!

As we left the theatre there were at least three tables set up for dinner upstairs and my friend told me later that there were no barriers up at the stage door so it was obvious that there would be no signing tonight.

We stayed at a motel nearby but I really struggled to sleep as I was still quite wired from seeing such a great performance tonight so close-up!

Next performance of Hamlet for me: Saturday 20th September (tomorrow!!!)

Bought a Novello ticket!

Some people had posted online that some tickets were available on the phone from the Novello Theatre so I rang up as soon as the Box Office opened. I was on hold for quite a while but eventually I got through. The first couple of dates I wanted were full but I managed to get one seat (the last one for that night!) right in the highest balcony but at least I got one and it was only £10!

Novello Theatre ticket fiasco

I work in Covent Garden near the Novello Theatre so I walked by then at 8.00am on my way to work and the queue was already 38 strong with about 15 people obviously having slept the night!

Dead on 10.00am a friend went online to try to get a ticket (I was in a meeting) and then I tried when I got out but the website just froze the whole time.

My friend said that she couldn't get on the phone at all so at about 11.00am I went around to the theatre but the queue was about 150 people in length and was right round the corner!

Thankfully I'd bought some tickets through the RSC when they first went on sale so, although I would like to go more times, I decided not to try any more.

I read later in online that they were getting something like 2,000 calls a second and few people posted that they'd been ale to buy tickets on the phones!

It was very annoying to later see some tickets appear on E-Bay and GetMeIn at massive prices!

Hamlet and Q&A - Friday 5th September

29th Performance of Hamlet (my 7th)

Photo of DT at he stage door after 4th September matinee (Photographer unknown as it was posted on OG)

I had an easy drive up today and stopped for a late lunch at my usual spot. I managed to find somewhere nearer the theatre to park with no parking restrictions so that was handy.

This was another performance that I booked when tickets first went on sale online through the RSC website. Consequently I'd been able to choose exactly the seat I wanted (F22) so I'd booked the seat adjacent to the stage right (entrance) walkway. It did mean that the dresses of both the Player Queen and the Dumbshow Queen brushed past me and I had the unusual experience of hearing something beside me on the walkway and turning to see the "monkey" disappearing under the Dumbshow Queen's dress! At another point the draft from David Tennant walking along the walkway moved my hair! The seat also had the advantage of having no seats in line with it so I had a perfect view. It was also the seat that DT stopped at to turn around between the second and third bows!

It was another great performance by all the cast tonight. I thought the intensity of the graveyard scene was especially strong.

When Hamlet was doing his scene with Polonius I noticed that he picked up a stray envelope that had been left on the stage by Ophelia, crushed it into a ball and tossed it into the central aisle. (At one of the earlier performances I noticed that the envelopes all have Ophelia's name written on the envelopes.)

Patrick Stewart was obviously struggling with his voice tonight as it was slightly hoarse and quite croaky but he managed to get through the play okay.

Something I forgot to add in another review was that in one performance Ophelia's petticoat ended up at the back of the stage so she didn't pick it up but just took the dress off stage with her. That meant that when she came back on stage in the dirtied petticoat later, the original clean one was still lying on stage!

There was a funny part tonight as, when Hamlet is talking to Polonius about the cloud that looks like a camel, weasel and whale, Horatio is laughing at the conversation but tonight the actor Peter de Jersey seemed to be laughing quite uncontrollably so that even David Tennant had a bit of a smile on his face!

The reason that I'd opted to see this performance was because there was a Q&A with the cast afterwards. This started about 15 minutes after the play finished and lots of the cast attended. The main absences were Penny Downie and David Tennant. Obviously I was a bit disappointed by the latter but it did mean that the other members of the cast answered questions too which was interesting.

Afterwards I walked to my car and got home by about 2.00am.

Next performance of Hamlet for me: Saturday 20th September