Coming Soon

National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue

165 min | 21 Nov 2024

This electrifying brand-new play directed by Sam Mendes brings Burton and Gielgud’s infamous Hamlet rehearsals to the big screen, with Johnny Flynn and Mark Gatiss.

Sam Mendes (The Lehman Trilogy) directs Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud and Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton in this fierce and funny new play. 1964: Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel. Written by Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child) and designed by Es Devlin (The Crucible), the Evening Standard award-winning best new play was filmed live during a sold-out run at the National Theatre. 

Director
Sam Mendes
Cast
Mark Gatiss, Tuppence Middleton, Johnny Flynn
Genre
Drama, Live Event
Release Date
21 November 2024
Runtime
165 min