Hamlet Hears A Who

Reuters UK reports that The Doctor himself, David Tennant, is earning rave reviews in the most talked about production of Hamlet in recent memory. It’s become the talk of England because not only because it stars the man the Daleks call The Oncoming Storm, but because Patrick Stewart plays Hamlet’s uncle/stepfather Claudius.

Some theatre purists’ eyes rolled into the backs of their heads with this one, but it’s not like they’re pulling these castings out of the Neutral Zone or something. Stewart was an acclaimed theatre star long before he “made it so” as Capt. Jean Luc Picard.  He was nominated for a Tony this year for Macbeth. Tennant has appeared with the Royal Shakespeare Company before, so this wasn’t nearly as big a risk as say, casting P-Diddy in A Raisin In the Sun.

Of course, the production has been deluged by rabid sci-fi fans looking to get memorabilia signed. The RSC has now banned the stars of the show from signing anything other than theatre-related items. OK, I know the original set piece from Star Trek:Generations would command a hefty price on eBay, but surely a program signed by these two stars is valuable as well? Not that there would be any online speculators in the crowd (cough, cough), right?

I think both these castings are inspired though. If it gets people that wouldn’t otherwise see The Bard into the theatre, that’s awesome. By the same token, if regular theatre goers start wondering what the heck a Romulan is and tune into some sci-fi that wouldn’t be a bad thing either.