When two great egos come together to create a production of Hamlet, you may expect a certain amount of fireworks.
Jack Thorne’s The Motive and the Cue imagines what may have happened when John Gielgud directed Richard Burton as the Dane on Broadway.
It’s 1963. For Gielgud, aged 60, it is his “best offer in years,” having played most Shakespearean roles of note by his Lear aged 31. Burton, aged 35, has just married Elizabeth Taylor and carries Hollywood in his bones.
There are emotional and physical tensions in the rehearsal room, and as these two titans spar,needle and reflect. Thorne’s play digs into their psyche and allows actors Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn to morph into the roles of Gielgud and Burton, respectively, before our eyes.
A love letter to the process of the rehearsal room and to theatre itself, The Motive and the Cue can be uproariously funny at one moment and heartbreaking the next. At 2hr 40, it never feels forced or slow.
It plays with the power of the stage, with ego, disappointment, ambition,sex, affection, and envy. Every actor in the Hamlet company is a recognisable type and a stereotype at the same time.
There’s also a great physical charge yet a wise head to Tuppence Middleton’s portrayal of Elizabeth Taylor,the child-woman who knew her worth and power before she entered her teens.
Gatiss is a revelation at Gielgud, a man who was born into theatre (his great-aunt was celebrated actress Ellen Terry). A gay man with an English sense of propriety and repression, he is quite another generation to Burton. Gatiss gives him respect and empathy.
As Burton, Flynn seems to take a moment to settle into the Welsh accent but displays great power, energy, and frustration, as well as a sizzling understanding with his new superstar bride.
This play is rich in both construction and content. For those of us who remember both Gielgud and Burton, it is interesting to see them ‘together’ on stage. For both theatre and film buffs, there is so much to savour and enjoy. For those who know actors, the peep into their craft is delightful.
For those who know Hamlet the sections from it are fascinating (Sarah Woodward as Eileen Herlie as Gertrude, which Herlie also placed opposite Olivier in the 1948 film, is excellent, particularly in her role as senior peacemaker in rehearsal).
‘To be or not to be’ offers a spotlight for Flynn to surely gear up for his own crack at the role himself, while strongly representing a Burton reaching into his own past as a miner’s son neglected and sidelined.
The sets open and close as needed, from the rehearsal room itself and the opulent rooms Burton and Taylor occupy to other quieter or simpler locations. Scene changes are managed well with a character or two doing some business before a black backdrop.
Director Sam Mendes and set designer Es Devlin have created a world that can be brutally realistic one minute and ethereal the next, with Jon Clark’s lighting offering shadows and vibrancy.
The Motive and the Cue has so much to offer, even to the theatre history novice. Although it is a bonus to know who Hume Cronyn (David Tarkenter at this performance) was, or even to have seen the production of Hamlet we see developed here (it is available and is worth a look), it isn’t necessary.
I congratulate the National Theatre on their latest transfer and urge you to see it if you can. Along with their Dear England, just up the road, you can not really do better.
The Motive and the Cue continues at the Noel Coward Theatre (Gielgud played Hamlet ‘on this very stage’ says a closing caption) with tickets here – booking to 23 Mar 2024.
*****
Image credit: Mark Douet