I want to see Hamlet but obviously no tickets available.

Can anyone tell me what the set up is for q'ing for returns at Stratford? How early do people Q? I'm on holiday next week and wondering if it's worth making the trip to Stratford on the possibilty of getting a return ticket.

I don't know the times, but I've heard accounts of people arriving ridiculously early (even sleeping outside the theatre overnight). A friend of mine got return tickets on the phone last week- try calling daily, you might get lucky.

Or you could always book tickets for the London run, when booking opens.

There were two empty seats next to us (second row stalls) yesterday- I wondered if they were victims of eBay voided tickets, or just no-shows.

It's an excellent production, I'd say worth taking a gamble on returns!

I queued last Monday (the day before press night) from 11:30am. At that time, there were about 15 people before me. At about 5pm, I was in 6th place and at that time, quite a few tickets came back and I got my ticket. I dread queuing but it wasn't painful at all. There are benches along the side of the yard in front of the theatre, the cafe is opposite, everyone is polite and fun.
I don't know whether there will be more of a scrum now after the good reviews. But I think that if you get there at a reasonable hour, you 'll have a very good chance.

On Saturday, for the matinee, the queue started at 3.30 am, and only 3 people got in.

It's pretty much guaranteed though that any theatrical endeavour will have better availability during the week than at weekends. Even, it seems, returns.

What's the usual method for calling about returns...how far in advance should one call? Or is it better to wait till the last minute?

I think your best bet is to call regularly- start now (or when the box office opens in the morning), then call daily.

hi,



Did you manage to get a ticket or are you still looking? And is it this week you're on holiday or next week? I tried pm'ing you but it wouldn't let me for some reason.

Hi,

It's this week - I'm going up today in the vain hope of getting a ticket - if not, well, at least I'll be able to enjoy Stratford and hopefully aviod the rain!

Lem

If you don't manage to get a return, let me know, as I know of a friend with a spare ticket (for next week tho)

So, Lem, did you have any luck?

Indeed, and the 6 hour Q was worth every minute, I'm still buzzing from a great show!

Just for info incase anyone else wants to know, here is what I managed to understand about Q'ing.

I arrived at 11am and there were about 15 people in front of me. The returns started to trickle in at around midday and I got a ticket at 5.30 ish. The final people to get tickets on Wednesday arrived in the Q at around 4.00 ish (I think). I understand that returns are more easily available during the week than at weekends.

The Box office staff were very nice to us with regular reports (even if it was just "nothing yet, but wait and see, you might be in luck!") and they have provided seats in the foyer so waiting is comfortable with toilets and food and drink in easy access. Just take a good book and relax (at least it was raining on Wednesday so I did not mind being stuck inside all day). It was nice to meet and chat to all the people in the Q - hello to anyone who is reading this!

If anyone is planing on driving to Stratford, I think the best option is to choose the park n ride (£1.30 all day) and then move the car to the free spaces on the road outside the theatre after 6pm

I will post a full review of my opinions later when I've pulled all my thoughts together but all in all, I think the wait was well worth it.

Bravo Lem!

Brilliant!

How many can sit indoors?

Do they open at 10am?

Any loos OUTSIDE?

The loos are in the public foyer by the shop, as is the cafe so anyone queuing will have access to them - I assume you can make arrangements about seat-saving.

Try not to drink too many fluids, and if you do need a wazz, ask the person next to you in the queue very politely if they'd mind saving your space and/or watching your coat or bag while you pee. Leaving something concrete behind should be an indicator that you're coming *back* rather than pushing in after you're done. Many people are very polite and will be happy to hold your space for you, although if you ask the person ahead of rather than behind you, that could be a little safer.

I think I usually make a few people both in front & behind me aware that I'm going briefly and will be back, and that I belong between the lady in yellow and the lady in red (or whatever).

(I'm not actually going to Stratford myself, but I know someone who is.)

I've queued for tennis at Wimbledon many times over the years, often alone, & found people very accommodating.
Some have even shared their picnic blankets &c!

NB though that if leaving a bag or coat as a place-marker, DON'T LEAVE ANY VALUABLES!

I found that everyone in the Q last week was very accommodating and there was no problem with leaving for a few minutes to visit the loos or grab a drink. Chat to people and you'll make new friends quickly - indeed, everyone in the Q last week was very friendly by the end of the day and we were all checking out the audience at the interval to see who had made it into the show.

As for the show itself, of course the star names of David Tennant and Patrick Stewart were enough to ensure the success of this production but the whole show was much more and no-one in the entire company failed to impress.

The stage design was simple with reflection used to great advantage gaining a wonderful and very clever lighting effect in the first scene. The layout of the theatre with a large thrust meant that the whole audience felt fully involved with the show and all 1000+ seats in the house seemed to have a very good view of the stage – hard to believe this is a temporary theatre! The only downside I noticed is that the seats are very narrow (I am by no means a large person) and you are forced to be quite friendly with the people you sit next to.

Patrick Stewart gave a star turn as Claudius with an understated and confident performance. He was really believable as the royal statesman who was well aware of his ambitions and will stop at nothing to achieve them. His sympathetic and trustworthy approach only barely conceals the steely gleam of ambition and deceit that lie beneath – reminded me a bit of a former PM – all smiles and friendliness on the surface with a much more sinister purpose.

Penny Downie was great as Gertrude, manipulated and torn 3 ways between her dead husband, her current lover and her son and trying hard to keep the faith with all of them.

David Tennant’s Hamlet was full of energy and literally bounced around the stage at times. He gave a very moving performance of a young man traumatised by his fathers death and his mothers hasty remarriage. This Hamlet descended to the verge of madness but uses this as a facade to conceal a more subtle plan. Maybe a touch of overacting at times where some of his lines were gabbled (there was 1 point when I saw Dr Who not Hamlet) but an excellent and believable performance of a quick witted Prince who is anxious to avenge the murder of his Father. He has a wonderful stage presence and easily commanded the whole stage.

Othelia was beautifully acted by Mariah Gale – her self assured demeanour at the start making her rapid descent into madness even more upsetting.

The whole production makes the storyline easy to follow and at times very amusing (something that some Shakespeare tragedies do not easily achieve) – I was totally spellbound for 3.5 hours.

Oh Lem,
can't wait to see this on Tuesday with my 2 teenage daughters! Thanks for review!

I sometimes queue for gen admin concerts and end up quite enjoying the queueing process.

Well done Lem, sounds like a good time was had.

Are people applauding when DT enters? I don't know if anyone else finds this, but it makes me cringe when a certain performer's entrance is applauded.

No. I was quite apprehensive about the audience's behaviour but my experience inside the theatre was excellent. It’s obvious that David Tennant is the major draw for many people (I mean, there were small children in the audience), but you wouldn't know that during the performance. There are no overblown reactions or reactions unrelated to the play and the audience was very responsive to all the actors.

Not on Wednesday (thank goodness!) I also hate it when people applaude when someone walks on stage, it somehow seems to degrade the actual applause that actors deserve AFTER giving a good performance. The entire audience when I saw it was sucked into the show and no-one seemed to be thinking of David Tennant or Patrick Stewart, just Hamlet or Claudius - and that's exactly how it should be IMHO

I agree. It's effectively saying "I've already decided you're amazing; the actual quality of your work isn't something I need to take into account".

I seem to be considering a lot of things a form of vanity lately, but the people who give entrance applause are the same people who laugh the split second before a punchline, or give a standing ovation and stare evilly at anyone who doesn't join in. They're not content to sit and watch; they want people to know how clued up, involved, enthusiastic, and otherwise wonderful they are. No matter how offputting and frustrating this behaviour may be for the rest of the audience. It may not be on a conscious level, but it's there nonetheless, and it drives me maaaaaaaaad.

Am I right to think that entrance applause is the norm in America, while in the UK it's very rare (and bad form)?

I went to a Saturday matinee. There was no applause for David Tennant's entrance and the audience was transfixed throughout, giving all the performers their undivided attention. There was a partial standing ovation at the end, but I wasn't aware of any dirty looks at those who chose to stay seated. All in all, a very enjoyable and civilized experience.

That's what I thought too. I've not seen it happen over here but I know from American Alan Rickman fans that when Private Lives went to Broadway he got applause on entry something that certainly didn't happen here on the four ( ) occasions I saw it!

Went last night and really enjoyed it! The only problem was that in row C of the gallery we could hear a very faint sound of chatter and laughter from behind us. This was REALLY distracting during the quiet intense moments and continued for all of the first half. I couldn't work out where it was coming from and even wondered if it was people outside the theatre but on mentioning it to a steward at half time I was told the duty manager had gone up to the production booth to "sort it out" as several other people had mentioned it...I think it was people up there chatting! Couldn't believe it.....sure enough the problem had gone in the second half.
Apart from this I loved the performance...my teenagers were transfixed.

As for queuing, I'll be in Stratford at the end of September, seeing Shrew on Sep 25 and Merchant on Sep 27, so will most probably be in the queue for a return for Hamlet on the 26th (though I've got a ticket for the last performance in November), and am just a little curious if anyone else here will be in the same queue, as that would make the long wait a little more bearable.

//Jenny

I saw it last week and thought it was a tad lacklustre. Ophelia and Gertrude really shone, but aside from that, the production seemed shabby and lazy. Gregory Doran's directing skills are surely the most overrated in Christendom. There are ideas lifted from his own productions and other recent and or current RSC productions where they worked much better. I was incredibly disappointed and only the fantastic performances from the two aforementioned actresses saved it from disaster. I'm still reeling from it all, truth be told!

I'm planning on seeing this in London at the end of december. Anyone know if the London theatre they're playing in will have day tockets available?

Public booking for the London run starts on 12th September. I predict the tickets will sell out on the first day.
Phone number is 0844 482 5170. They're saying booking will open at 10am, but it might be worth giving them a ring just to check.

They should also be selling online at Novello Theatre (though be careful not to try and book yet; the Hamlet they have up there at the moment is the Jude Law run)

I was lucky enough to see Hamlet twice and as good as it was the first time, the second performance a month later was truly exceptional. Everything that was good the first time was still there, intimacy in the relationships, attention to detail, a fresh reading. But the actors have used their confidence and familiarity with the text to become bolder and more raw. Not undisciplined, the principles of the production are still the same, but they are exploring new things in front of your eyes. It was both the same production as the first time and completely different.

Especially Tennant, who might have been a bit diffident and careful emotionally the first time, the second time I saw him, was devastating. No less funny, witty, energetic, enganging or alive on stage but his perfomance had a very deep current of desperation and grief and danger. I was scared of him and for him.

One of the great theatrical experiences of my life.

So much for tickets for London - Delfont's phone line has been jammed all morning (surely not!) and the website - lets not even go there......!

RSnotseeing i share your frustration. The phone lines and online booking sytem are abolsute S***. I've wasted a casual 2 and a half hours getting nowhere so far, its quite disgusting really.

I forgot to add that the irony with the online booking is that when it loads (AND the chance of that happening is about 10%) it then says "limited" and asks you to phone the box office. Has anyone ACTUALLY thought about this system?!?!?!

A new message has just appeared on the website "PLEASE NOTE THIS PRODUCTION HAS NOW SOLD OUT". I'd like to know HOW exactly?!

I suspect it was nearly sold out to priority bookers before it ever went on sale this morning. I bought several tickets for friends and when I asked how many I could buy, I was told I could buy every seat in the house if I wanted to. Bad luck, Rnotseeing - hopefully you'll pick up some returns.

Yeah...thats true Alexandra. Glad you managed to get tickets, its just one of those things i won't be able to see. Oh well, i know there will be better things that this to see anyway.

Buying out the whole theatre, you'd have to be VERY rich!!!


Now is the time to watch ebay, those seats will be bought by rich people!

I'd be interested to know whether any one does manage to sell tickets on ebay and if so whether the buyer finds they have been cancelled, as threatened by the RSC. I hope so.

Thanks for not giving me a hard time for buying several tickets, Guest 12:52! I did feel a bit guilty but I can assure you that they've all gone (at face value) to friends who really really wanted to see it. I do think they should probably have stopped us buying more than 4 each, though. I hope you get to see it somehow.

Ha ha... thats interesting! I spent my morning - without success - both online and on the phone and was teased by several times nearly getting there... but never quite. On one of those almost successes I made it into the telephone box office system, which told me that I could not buy more than 4 tickets for Hamlet. Well I wish, that was only seconds before it hung up on me anyway. "the rest is silence"!

So they're stopping people from buying more than 4 tickets now?!! (assuming, theoretically, you actually manage to get through). It's a bit late - they should have stopped the priority bookers.

Hey Alexandra, no problem...i really hope you enjoy the performance. Thanks for wishing me luck in trying to get some tickets, i'll try to find a way!

Guest_Adoby_* I'm glad we had similar experiences, although yours sounded more annoying.

I don't know why...but i'm finding this topic rather amusing now!!

I am also rather amused about the whole (frustrating) experience by now... well thankfully I have seen the production in Stratford already but had to leave just before the end to catch the last train to London. When we left all characters except for poor Polonius were still alive and well... I'll never find out how it all ends now

I am sure tickets will turn up nearer the time, they always do. So good luck to everyone!

"I'll never find out how it all ends now"

Adoby....Osric did it.

The touts seem to have been busy.

A price of £295 for stalls seats seems to be a "nice earner" - this is the price quoted on a site apparently linked to the Independent newspaper.

I wonder if anyone had luck by queuing at the actual theatre box office?

That's what I advised my colleague to do! I should have made her sort her dates
out with her friends and booked her some using the priority booking - not that
there was a lot left when I booked mine.

There were so many people trying to book online that the Delfont system actually died
before 10am, when they went on sale - I couldn't get through when I idly tried to look
at tickets for Oliver! earlier this morning.

Kathryn.

I also spent half the morning trying to (unsuccessfully) get tickets, both on the phone and the website which was a complete joke. I got offered tickets almost straight away but the delfont site then crashed during the payment process. Rung the box office and spent half an hour on hold before being told to ring back during the opening hours of 8a.m to 9p.m! It is to be hoped that delfont mackintosh learn something from this and improve their booking facilities next time they sell such a highly demanded production.

Oh well, I'll just have to enjoy midsummer nights dream and taming of the shrew instead.

Evening Standard says there were 270 people queuing at the box office. I think that people will have more luck queuing for returns and day seats on the day.

For everyone in need of a laugh after a frustrating and unsuccessful morning on phone and internet I recommend this BBC News article: http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/ma...ng_this_mo.html