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Theatre

Riveting and sumptuous: The Motive and the Cue, at the Lyttelton Theatre, reviewed

13 May 2023

9:00 AM

13 May 2023

9:00 AM

The Motive and the Cue

Lyttelton Theatre, until 15 July

Retrograde

Kiln Theatre, until 27 May

The Motive and the Cue breaches the inviolable sanctity of the rehearsal room. The play, set in New York in 1964, follows John Gielgud’s efforts to direct the world’s biggest film star, Richard Burton, in Shakespeare’s most demanding play, Hamlet. A member of Gielgud’s company, Richard L. Sterne, recorded the process and his notes form the basis of Sam Mendes’s riveting production.

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