If you love theater and did not know this was being shown for one evening, contact the CCP and Ayala Cinemas and clamor for more screenings. Back in 1964, Sir John Gielgud, already a legend on stage and for interpreting Shakespeare, was set to direct Richard Burton in Hamlet, in a modern day adaptation that would run on Broadway from April to August of that year. Burton was then touted as the actor of his generation of the Young & Angry and had just married America’s sweetheart, Elizabeth Taylor.
It was a box office success, but what escaped the headlines back then (good thing there was no social media) was the fractious relationship between the director and lead actor and how the presence of Taylor often exacerbated an already tense situation. Playwright Jack Thorne (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Enola Homes) saw this as tremendous material for creating a different kind of love letter to theater. Sam Mendes directed The Motive and the Cue when it was first staged in London in 2023.
Mark Gatiss portrays Gielgud, Johnny Flynn is Burton, and Tuppence Middleton takes on the role of Elizabeth Taylor, with Gatiss picking up the Best Actor win in the 2024 Olivier Awards. It was also nominated for Best New Play and Best Director. So it’s quite a treat to find something so current already on the National Theater Live roster and have our CCP pick it out as one of their series of presentations this 2024 at the Greenbelt Cinemas.
First, it is one of the best dramas I’ve ever .