Benedict Cumberbatch, Transition Completed

by Lynnette Porter

  The Play is the Thing

  Whereas “the play is the thing” for the actor, multitudes of others directly or remotely involved with the production had a lot to consider in preparation for the three-month run in 2015. More than a year ahead of Hamlet’s opening night, policies and plans had to be carefully negotiated. While fans planned their ticket-buying strategies and the Barbican developed its policies and art for the 2015 production (revealing the official poster on August 1, 2014), rumours began about the type of production it might be.

  Cumberbatch admitted in February to fans during a Q&A at the StarFury: Elementary convention in Birmingham that he had already been immersed in discussing Hamlet with the director for months.[236] First in discussion among critics was whether this Hamlet would be a modern adaptation, which has become a trend among other recent Shakespearean plays drawing in a film or television actor’s fans. At Trafalgar Studios, for example, director Jamie Lloyd’s Macbeth (2013), starring James McAvoy, opted for a near-future dystopia, and Richard III (2014), starring Martin Freeman, set the play within a few decades of the present. As a result of recent London productions, especially of Hamlet, the primary questions asked early on about the Barbican’s Hamlet were, first, would director Lyndsey Turner opt for a modern adaptation and, second , was another Hamlet necessary,[237] when so many famous actors seemed to be playing the role in recent years?

  Perhaps the actor and director, more than public need for another Hamlet, drove the selection for the Barbican’s 2015-16 season. Undoubtedly, by choosing this play, Cumberbatch sets himself up for comparison not only with television actors like David Tennant, who played the role in 2008 and whose 2009 recorded performance lives on, but with actors like Laurence Olivier, whose Hamlet is considered a classic.

  The poster released in August 2014 suggested a unique stylistic approach to the play: the children gathered for the prince’s birthday party (and beautifully photographed for the poster art) are dressed in a variety of costumes.[238] Ophelia, for example, is dressed in black as a fairy; Rosencrantz and Guildenstern wear skeleton costumes. Even more interesting is the fact that only Cumberbatch’s small-print name is included within the design. A photograph of the actor, whether dressed as Hamlet or himself, was not necessary to market the play that already was being called “Cumberbatch’s Hamlet”.

  The pensive boy staring at the camera/audience aligns with Cumberbatch’s comments about Hamlet that “he doesn’t seem to want to be in the play. He wants to get out and go back to university, and [his relatives] drag him back into courtly life and being the prince”.[239] The actor’s description meshes with the boy’s troubled expression as he stares from the poster.

  Cumberbatch believes audiences should get to know Hamlet throughout the course of the play. The character offers insights into humanity, “whether it is depression or anxiety or the idea of not being able to do something or being inactive or... powerless, and how to treat that with humour, self-laceration, anger, and action”.[240]

  Throughout his journey, as illustrated in the play and interpreted by Cumberbatch, Hamlet eventually reaches a point of a “Buddhist ‘let be’” quality as he accepts his fate. During the production’s development, Cumberbatch expressed his hope that he could bring Hamlet’s “wonderful journey” and “gripping story” [241] to the audience as a dynamic theatrical experience.

  Not less significantly, the role also allows him to show more of himself, rather than requiring him to speak with an accent or emote from behind a character with a very different appearance. When audiences see Hamlet, they can also better understand the way Cumberbatch moves or speaks, because his Hamlet can look, sound, and move more like the actor. In recent years his performances as Smaug or Classified, or even the Americans Ford or Little Charles, for example, are far removed from the actor’s natural appearance or sound.

  Although, prior to Hamlet, Cumberbatch had not starred in a London play since Frankenstein in 2011, he never truly left live performances. Perhaps thinking of Hamlet as his “return” to the theatre is incorrect, because in 2013 Cumberbatch participated in what may be the largest gathering of theatrical talent ever on stage for one event. The National Theatre’s fiftieth anniversary celebration and resulting television and cinema broadcasts of the recorded production showcased the many talented actors who have acted on the National Theatre’s stages in the past half century, many performing scenes from the plays in which they originally starred. Cumberbatch also continued his tradition of dramatic readings, often for a good cause such as literacy or to participate in celebrations of literature and art, such as the Hay Festival. During 2013-14, he kept his connection with the stage alive through these short performances.

  The National Theatre at Fifty

  For the National Theatre’s anniversary gala in early November 2013, Cumberbatch tackled a short scene from Tom Stoppard’s Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead. The scene allowed Cumberbatch (playing Rosencrantz to Kobna Holdbrook-Smith’s Guildenstern) to show off his comedic timing. The show, broadcast on BBC and, later, internationally through NT Live, was rehearsed on Friday, November 1, and broadcast live in the U.K. on Saturday, November 2.

  Trying to work in so many actors in so many scenes from so many plays was a daunting task and required months of preparation. Despite Cumberbatch’s many work commitments, he agreed by early October to participate in the gala; other actors pencilled in for roles did not commit to the show until much later in the month.

  With fifty years of productions being celebrated at the National Theatre, audiences might assume that the National’s wealth of costumes would make it easy simply to choose something from stock for the performances, but that was not the case. For Rosencrantz and Guildenstern, the actors were fitted in new costumes that were reminiscent of the characters’ wardrobe in the original run. The soft material for the doublets and breeches was dyed from moss to shades of brown, and hats were made from Broadwick silks purchased for this performance. The trim and buttons were just about all that was used from the costume department’s stock.[242]

  Even for such a brief scene, one among many in the two-hour production, details were important. Everything from set decoration of two barrels on stage to the actors’ money purses was planned in the many scripts and lists of props required for the elaborate production. Although Cumberbatch and Holdbrook-Smith mimed being encased in coffins and gestured more than worked with props, the minimalist set still had to establish the mood and indicate the significance of the characters and play being feted in this auspicious production.

  In an early version of the script, the Rosencrantz and Guildenstern scene was three pages and was going to be introduced by an actor on stage. In the interest of time, the scene’s dialogue was shortened by a page and the coin-flipping opening added; instead of a live introduction, a voiceover and still shot of a poster for the 1967 production prefaced the scene. It was scheduled for only two minutes, with another five seconds allocated for applause after the blackout on Cumberbatch’s last line.

  Even if the actors did not require it, autocue showed their lines - everything was planned to the second and for all contingencies. (The “worst case scenario” sheet outlining what could possibly go wrong and what to do if it did was truly impressive for this mammoth production.)[243] As expected, Cumberbatch’s scene went off smoothly, and the actor returned backstage to watch the rest of the show.

  A final note added to script cues summarised the anticipated relief once the live broadcast, with all its complexity for both stage and television, finally went dark. The last instruction was “go for a large gin!”[244]

  Despite the drink-inducing tension inherent in such a complex live production, the successful event did more than celebrate the National Theatre. It publicly acknowledged the generations of talented actors performing on its stages. Nicholas Hytner, Director of the National Theatre, addressed the audience before the Saturday night rec
ording began. (Whereas tickets to the Friday night preview had been sold to the public, the Saturday night audience consisted of actors who had worked at the National.) In recognition of the creative contributions of the audience and the actors on stage that night, Hytner praised the many dedicated performers who had crossed the National’s stages during the past half century:

  The amazing company of actors on stage tonight is eclipsed only by the company of actors out front. You have each been in, on average, more than eighteen different National Theatre productions. I’m biased, but I’m going to say that by definition that makes you the best in the country, and therefore the world.

  Cumberbatch, star of After the Dance and Frankenstein and participant in the gala, certainly meets Hytner’s description, even if he has not quite reached the high average number of productions achieved by many of his colleagues attending that night.

  The Director noted that the preview ran over time by seven minutes because the audience “were so lavish with their laughter and applause” and quipped that “we’ve got 2 hours 10 before the BBC pull the plug... After 50 years of achievement, we seem to have established ourselves as an indelible part of the nation we serve. I hope tonight will remind you why that’s happened”.[245]

  Although Cumberbatch was only on stage a few minutes during the multi-hour showcase, what was more important to audiences’ and critics’ understanding of his status as an actor was to see him join fellow thespians of his generation on the National Theatre’s stage for the curtain call. Actors from the most recent plays took a bow first, with the progression continuing to actors starring in plays a decade ago, then two decades past, until the audience finally honoured those who first performed in the National Theatre fifty years ago. For the Saturday night performance being broadcast on BBC, glitter descended onto the actors during the curtain calls, creating a “glittering” final image of the assembled stars on stage.

  Not only was Cumberbatch applauded for his role during the prestigious anniversary production (which has been recorded for posterity and now can be seen by current and future generations of audiences), but he is being lauded as much for his stage performances as those on television or film. The National Theatre production/ broadcast also reminded audiences and critics that Cumberbatch’s career is not going to be that of the typical “Hollywood” star. Some of his most memorable roles to date have been on stage, and the theatre will always provide a home for him when he has time to dedicate months to rehearsing and acting for a multi-week run of a play.

  Small Venues with a Big Impact

  Cumberbatch long has supported a range of philanthropic events, not only those that require him to dress smartly and smile for photographers. Yet he still seems surprised by the power of his presence or his name during, for example, a charity auction. He and Gillian Anderson, along with many performers of Letters Live, signed a book and helped auction it. The winning bid was £5,000. Of course, the bids may have increased after Neil Gaiman suggested that Cumberbatch’s DNA would be on the book, because he was holding it with sweaty hands. To further enhance the book’s DNA appeal, Anderson also licked it. Good sport Cumberbatch played along but seemed a bit awkward as he held the opened book to show the crowd. He happily hugged the highest bidders after he jumped off the stage to present their prize. The auction, part of a December 10, 2014 dramatic reading event, benefitted The Reading Agency and raised £11,000 during the evening.

  At this performance at the Tabernacle in London, Cumberbatch’s texts were letters extracted from Simon Garfield’s To the Letter and Shaun Usher’s Letters of Note. The actor looked smartly casual, pairing a dark jacket formally buttoned with a shirt artfully opened a couple of buttons - a fact noted in media news as well as fan websites. That he took his roles seriously - or playfully, as a letter dictated - was obvious, despite the event being a one-time dramatic reading before a much smaller audience than he usually commands.

  Cumberbatch found the humour in letters written by Signalman Christopher Barker in 1944 to his girl back home, Bessie, whose letters were read by Kerry Fox. Although the texts are often serious, they also invited the audience to laugh when Christopher, despite his desperate desire to see Bessie after a long separation, still has cold feet when even thinking about marriage. Finding the lightness in a wartime love letter endeared Cumberbatch to the audience, especially with lines like “I must warm you, surround you, love you, and be kind to you” as the lovers plan their upcoming time together, only, a moment later, to add, “I would prefer not to get married”.[246] Cumberbatch looked down to read the letters on the podium, but he punctuated the upbeat sections with gestures and animated body language, only to pause during Christopher’s more sobering thoughts.

  Although the reading of these love letters became a highlight of the event, Cumberbatch’s interpretation of a more emotionally devastating correspondence revealed insights into his forthcoming portrayal of Alan Turing in The Imitation Game. The film was in post-production by the time Cumberbatch read Turing’s heartbreaking letter to friend and colleague Norman Routledge, and the Letters Live audience could see Turing, not Cumberbatch, inhabit the stage to explain the charge against him and to contemplate just what kind of man he would be after his legal ordeal.[247] As Turing, Cumberbatch put on a good front, saying in a few words what had happened but then, amid a pause punctuated with a deep breath, showing that Turing is well aware of the terrible price he will pay for his sexual indiscretion.

  With his enactment of the men behind the letters, Cumberbatch did far more than read well - he became Christopher Barker or Alan Turing and shared their thoughts, hopes, and fears. The actor fulfilled the purpose of Letters Live by bringing these real people to life decades after their letters were written and reminding audiences that these writers from the mid-twentieth century are not so different from the performers or listeners who later hear their stories.

  Letters Live at the Hay Festival

  On May 30, 2014, Cumberbatch continued letter readings at the Hay Festival with the first of two performances, where 1,700 listeners “queued around the block” to hear the actor read letters written by poet Ted Hughes and explorer Robert Scott. Because the tickets cost only £15, fans who may not have had the cash or opportunity to see the actor before made sure to buy a ticket immediately. Director Peter Florence told the press that the event added “a huge festival audience to the Benedict Cumberbatch appreciation society, which is a passionate and enormous group of people”.[248] Walking into the festival amid the crowd, Cumberbatch grinned as he was photographed by media and onlookers and seemed well aware that so many eyes were turned to him.

  Because of Cumberbatch’s popularity and fast sale of the Saturday reading, a second ninety-minute session was added to Friday’s schedule. The outdoor venue was far more casual than the Tabernacle event, and the actor dressed down appropriately. In recent months he had begun wearing dark-framed glasses in public (which caused a stir in entertainment news), and he did so at the Festival but did not put them on during the reading. Instead, he tucked them into the V of his open shirt and, hands in pockets, began to portray Christopher’s epistolary story. Nevertheless, as one reporter noted, Cumberbatch’s approach to the readings was far from casual and “gave fans who have not had the chance to see him in the theatre a taste of what he’s like on stage”.[249] Working this time with Lisa Dwan, Cumberbatch again read the series of love letters between Christopher and Bessie.

  With events like Letters Live, Cumberbatch brings a bit of theatre to audiences outside the auspices of a venue like the Barbican or National. Instead, his participation in these events not only enhances an awareness of texts with which audiences in an instant-emessage society may not be familiar (such as letters) but lets people who may not ever be able to see him on stage get an idea of how an actor of Cumberbatch’s calibre can spellbind an audience through dramatic interpretation. In short scenes performed on stage during 2013-14, whethe
r from a play like Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead or letters turned into performance art, Cumberbatch excelled at introducing different audiences to the wonders of live acting. It does not hurt that, in addition, his presence sells more tickets to festivals of arts and literature or helps raise funds for literacy.

  The Hay Festival website describes its mission thus: “Hay gathers people together to think about the world as it is and to imagine how it might be. It’s a big conversation about discovery and intellectual adventure”.[250] Cumberbatch chooses to publicly participate in this conversation, not always in the highest paying venues. He engenders, particularly in his youngest fans, an interest in texts and a better understanding why “the play is the thing”.

  222 Gary Oldman. “Benedict Cumberbatch.” Interview. Autumn 2013.

  223 Paul Jones. “Sherlock’s Benedict Cumberbatch - I Want to Play Hamlet Soon.” Radio Times. 20 June 2012.

  224 Serena Davies. “Benedict Cumberbatch: A Hamlet Worth Waiting For.” Telegraph. 1 Aug. 2014.

  225 Barbican. Theatre & Dance Event Details. Hamlet. May 2014.

  226 Rachel Stewart. “Cumberbatch’s Hamlet Most In-Demand Show of All Time.” Telegraph. 11 Aug. 2014.

  227 Karen Price. “Hay Festival: A Love Letter to Benedict Cumberbatch.” Wales Online. 30 May 2014.

  228 Dominic Cavendish. “How Much Would You Pay to see Benedict Cumberbatch as Hamlet?” Telegraph. 6 June 2014.

  229 Several sites, listed in the bibliography, provide similar details.

  230 “Benedict Cumberbatch Evades Disenchanted Fans with Friends at 2014 HBO PartyRivaBella LA.” PopCandiesTV. Jan. 2014.