The Motive and the Cue Tickets
About The Motive and the Cue
★★★★★ - 'A brilliant new play ' - Financial Times
★★★★★ - 'A magnificent tour de force' - Broadway World
★★★★★ - 'Funny, witty and utterly compelling' - WhatsOnStage
★★★★ - 'A love letter to theatre' - Evening Standard
Sam Mendes directs Johnny Flynn as Richard Burton, Mark Gatiss as John Gielgud and Tuppence Middleton as Elizabeth Taylor, in this fierce and funny new play by Jack Thorne, offering a glimpse into the politics of a rehearsal room and the relationship between art and celebrity.
1964: Richard Burton, newly married to Elizabeth Taylor, is to play the title role in an experimental new Broadway production of Hamlet under John Gielgud’s exacting direction. But as rehearsals progress, two ages of theatre collide and the collaboration between actor and director soon threatens to unravel.
The hugely celebrated production of The Motive and the Cue is now playing in the West End for 15 weeks only, following a sold-out run at the National Theatre.
Run time
2h 40m (incl. interval)
Start date
9th December, 2023
End date
23rd March, 2024
Categories
Venue
Age
12+ Everyone, regardless of age, must have their own ticket to enter the theatre. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by and sat next to a ticket holder who is at least 18 years old. Children under the age of 5 will not be admitted.
552 Reviews
Important information
This production contains strong language and adult themes, with some bright lighting.
The Motive and the Cue cast and creative team
By: Jack Thorne, based on the books John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet by Richard Sterne and Letters From an Actor by William Redfield
Director: Sam Mendes
Cast list: Johnny Flynn (as Richard Burton), Tuppence Middleton (as Elizabeth Taylor), Mark Gatiss (as John Gielgud), Allan Corduner, Ryan Ellsworth, Aysha Kala, Luke Norris, Michael Walters, Laurence Ubong Williams
Design: Es Devlin
Costumes: Katrina Lindsay
Lighting: Jon Clark
Sound: Paul Arditti
Venue
Noël Coward Theatre
Directions
Location: West End
Railway station: Charing Cross
Bus numbers: (Charing Cross) 24, 29, 176; (Strand) 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 23, 87, 91, 139
Night bus numbers: (Charing Cross) 24, 176, N5, N20, N29, N41, N279; (Strand) 6, 23, 139, N9, N15, N11, N13, N21, N26, N44, N47, N87, N89, N91, N155, N343, N551
Car park: St Martin's Lane Hotel (1min)
Directions from tube: (2mins) Take Cranbourn Street away from Leicester Square until St Martin’s Lane, where you head right until you reach the theatre.
Tickets
Unfortunately, tickets for this event are no longer available.
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