Harry Potter and the Cursed Child writer Jack Thorne’s new play The Motive and the Cue is to premiere at the National Theatre ‘s Lyttelton Theatre on 2 May 2023, with previews from 20 April 2023.
The production was announced in July of this year, and now the date and cast has been set.
The play explores British acting legends Richard Burton and John Gielgud and how they staged a production of Hamlet on Broadway in 1964. At the time Burton and Taylor had just married after meeting on the set of Cleopatra, and were the most famous couple in the world.
Directed by Sam Mendes, The Motive and the Cue will star Johnny Flynn (Emma, Hangmen) as Richard Burton, Tuppence Middleton (Downton Abbey) as Elizabeth Taylor and Mark Gatiss (Sherlock) as John Gielgud.
The cast will also feature Allan Corduner, Ryan Ellsworth, Aysha Kala, Luke Norris, Michael Walters and Laurence Ubong Williams.
Alongside Sam Mendes in the creative team will be production design by Es Devlin, costume design by Katrina Lindsay, lighting design by Jon Clark, composer Benjamin Kwasi Burrell, sound designer Paul Arditti, and video designer Luke Halls. The Associate director will be Zoe Ford Burnett.
The play is based on the books “John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet” by Richard Sterne, and “Letters From an Actor” by William Redfield.
The play is a joint production between the National Theatre and Sam Mendes and Caro Newling’s Neal Street Productions. Another of their co-productions, The Lehman Trilogy, is transferring into the West End next year, with Michael Balogun, Hadley Fraser and Nigel Lindsay starring in the play at the Gillian Lynne Theatre from 24 January 2023.
Mark Gatiss is currently directing the West End transfer of his Chichester hit comedy The Unfriend starring fellow League of Gentlemen Reece Shearsmith, which opens at the Criterion Theatre from 15 January 2023. He is also directing new comedy The Way Old Friends Do, coming to the Park Theatre in 2023.
The Motive and the Cue will run from 20 April 2023 until 15 July 2023 at the Lyttelton Theatre, National Theatre.
More about The Motive and the Cue at the National Theatre
