This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2014/nov/06/maxine-peake-hamlet-screened-in-cinemas-royal-exchange
The article has changed 4 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 2 | Version 3 |
|---|---|
| Maxine Peake's Hamlet to be screened in cinemas | Maxine Peake's Hamlet to be screened in cinemas |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| To see or not to see? That is the question for film-goers now that the sold-out Manchester theatre production of Hamlet, starring Maxine Peake, is to be screened in cinemas next year. Shooting has just completed on a film version of the Royal Exchange show, which closed on 25 October. | To see or not to see? That is the question for film-goers now that the sold-out Manchester theatre production of Hamlet, starring Maxine Peake, is to be screened in cinemas next year. Shooting has just completed on a film version of the Royal Exchange show, which closed on 25 October. |
| As well as starring the highest-profile actress to play Hamlet in decades, Sarah Frankcom’s cross-cast, modern-dress production featured women in the roles of Polonius (who became Polonia) and Rosencrantz. The staging was notable for a constellation of dangling lightbulbs and a gravediggers’ scene played out in a virtual jumble sale of old clothes, with a rolled-up jumper becoming Yorick’s skull. | As well as starring the highest-profile actress to play Hamlet in decades, Sarah Frankcom’s cross-cast, modern-dress production featured women in the roles of Polonius (who became Polonia) and Rosencrantz. The staging was notable for a constellation of dangling lightbulbs and a gravediggers’ scene played out in a virtual jumble sale of old clothes, with a rolled-up jumper becoming Yorick’s skull. |
| Michael Billington described the production as a “personal rather than a political Hamlet [that] goes out of its way to avoid cliche” and praised a “fine performance that confirms Peake’s capacity for emotional directness and a fierce, uncensored honesty”. Susannah Clapp wrote that Frankcom, whose Royal Exchange has this year hosted The Last Days of Troy with Lily Cole and Orlando with Suranne Jones, “is in effect creating England’s first mainstream feminist theatre”. | Michael Billington described the production as a “personal rather than a political Hamlet [that] goes out of its way to avoid cliche” and praised a “fine performance that confirms Peake’s capacity for emotional directness and a fierce, uncensored honesty”. Susannah Clapp wrote that Frankcom, whose Royal Exchange has this year hosted The Last Days of Troy with Lily Cole and Orlando with Suranne Jones, “is in effect creating England’s first mainstream feminist theatre”. |
| Hamlet was the theatre’s fastest-selling show in a decade. More than 35,000 people saw the production. Picturehouse Entertainment will distribute the film, directed by Margaret Williams, to an estimated 200 cinemas in the UK in March 2015. The shoot took place over the last three nights of the production. It is the first time the Royal Exchange has broadcast one of its shows. | |
| Meanwhile, the next eagerly anticipated Hamlet – Benedict Cumberbatch – is in talks to broadcast the Barbican’s already sold-out production, directed by Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman. | Meanwhile, the next eagerly anticipated Hamlet – Benedict Cumberbatch – is in talks to broadcast the Barbican’s already sold-out production, directed by Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman. |
| • Everyday Shakespeare quiz – match the popular expression to the play | • Everyday Shakespeare quiz – match the popular expression to the play |
| • Best Shakespeare productions: readers’ favourite Hamlets | • Best Shakespeare productions: readers’ favourite Hamlets |