Sam Mendes & Jack Thorne's THE MOTIVE & THE CUE (about the Gielgud/Burton Hamlet) moving to West End

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 1:53pm

Will debut in Spring 2023 in the UK, with many creatives from The Lehman Trilogy returning 

Updated On: 7/31/23 at 01:53 PM

[TotallyEffed]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 1:57pm

Sounds brilliant.

[fashionguru_23]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 2:19pm

This sounds incredible.

[jagman1062]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 3:07pm

Already excited for the 2023-2024 (hopefully) Broadway season!

[pethian]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 3:17pm

Drooling.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 3:36pm

Oh my God, I can’t wait for casting to be announced for this. 

[Dark_Vader]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 4:31pm

This is intriguing. My parent owned the recording of this production on vinyl. It consisted of 4 long playing records. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 7:01pm

Who should play Burton, Gielgud, and Taylor? Wonder if they'll go with actual stars or solid theatre actors?

Also wondering how audiences will feel about actors playing famous actors in this context.

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 7/27/22 at 7:29pm

It's the National, so it could go either way. Their productions regularly sell out without "stars", so it wouldn't be weird to have "normal" actors. On the other hand, it's Sam Mendes so so it's also not inconceivable this will star Benedict Cumberbatch and Michael Sheen.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 8:48am

Play, titled "The Motive and the Cue", in talks to transfer to West End & Broadway with cast members Johnny Flynn, Tuppence Middleton, and Mark Gatiss

[Jordan Catalano]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 8:57am

I saw this the other night and it was absolutely brilliant. Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn are definite front runners for every acting award there is. At 2 hours 40 mins, the time just flew by and the reaction from the audience at the curtain call rivaled the most thunderous applause I’ve ever heard in a theater. 

Updated On: 5/10/23 at 08:57 AM

[JasonC3]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 12:41pm

Nice to see the National getting its groove back a bit after some real misfires in recent years.

[macnyc]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 4:42pm

I’m so excited to see this in June!

I think it’s an awful title though. 

Updated On: 5/10/23 at 04:42 PM

[Jarethan]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 4:47pm

Jordan Catalano said: "I saw this the other night and it was absolutely brilliant. Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn are definite front runners for every acting award there is. At 2 hours 40 mins, the time just flew by and the reaction from the audience at the curtain call rivaled the most thunderous applause I’ve ever heard in a theater."

I am seeing this is about 2 weeks and have been wondering whether I made a mistake, since it is an unknown quantity to me, other than Sam Mendes.  This sounds very encouraging. 

[BETTY22]

Posted: 5/10/23 at 5:01pm

This sounds wonderful. 

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 7/31/23 at 8:46am

Missed this, but the production has confirmed a transfer to the West End, playing from December through March

No news on a Broadway transfer yet, though.

[KevinKlawitter]

Posted: 1/9/24 at 8:18am

Being released in movie theatres via National Theatre Live starting March 21

[chrishuyen]

Posted: 1/9/24 at 2:31pm

I was considering this for my February West End trip, though with this being screened, I might wait around for that.  How much background would you say you need to know about the Hamlet production in question?  I've heard mention of it vaguely but don't know too much about the specifics around it.

[Jarethan]

Posted: 1/9/24 at 2:34pm

chrishuyen said: "I was considering this for my February West End trip, though with this being screened, I might wait around for that. How much background would you say you need to know about the Hamlet production in question? I've heard mention of it vaguely but don't know too much about the specifics around it."

You need to know nothing.  Also, I would not miss the opportunity to see it live.  The acting by the two male leads is great and the entire cast is terrific.  Then see it on streaming afterwards.

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 1/11/24 at 3:09pm

There will be a National Live screening at the NYU Skirball Center on 4/28. 
I was able to see this a couple of times in London, once at the National, and once in the West End. It's a great play, but I know that the producers are having a hell of a time trying to get it to Broadway. The three leads are amazing and while they may be known to some people, they are not big enough names to sell a Broadway ticket so the producers are looking for the show to come to Broadway and be part of a subscription season in association with either Lincoln Center or MTC or Roundabout. 
They also are having the same problem that they had trying to find a West End house in that there are massive set pieces that need to fly in and out so they need to find a Broadway house to accommodate them yet not be so big that the show gets swallowed up. The last scene of the show does take place at the Lunt, but the producers have already decided that that the theater capacity would be too big for the show to make any money. It looks like the earliest we will see this show on Broadway would be spring of 2025. 

[Broadway Flash]

Posted: 1/11/24 at 4:26pm

I was thinking they could sneak in this season at the Belasco right after their run in London.  I guess they could do the Beaumont this fall, but I’d imagine they want to be open in the spring to win the Tony and Andre Bishop is going out with a bang, so I doubt Motive will be there Spring 25.  This doesn’t seem to fit in with the Roundabout brand, and I’m also skeptical MTC would do it. 

[MrsSallyAdams]

Posted: 4/21/24 at 7:18am

I started a new thread for The Motive and the Cue by mistake. The lack of title in the subject line means it didn't pop up in my search. Here were my thoughts in case the extra thread gets deleted.

Both actors capture the voices of the stars. Flynn's having a grand time portraying Burton's hamminess. But there are no stakes. Burton's at the peak of his career and will clearly find more work regardless if the play succeeds. The big revelation that

 

Click Here To Toggle Spoiler Content

Burton hated his father seems old hat. What artist didn't hate at least one of their parents?

Gielgud's at his most vulnerable when discussing loneliness and homophobia. But, again, that's no surprise to anyone.

I did get tired of scenes where actors tell other actors how noble acting is. It grew very treacly by the end.
 
The work was nominated for Best Play at the Oliviers. I don't see a great need for it to transfer to Broadway despite focusing on a bit of Broadway history. 

[Musigamist]

Posted: 6/22/24 at 1:54pm

Per Deadline, transferring to a Shubert theatre next spring with Gatis, Flynn, and Middleton reprising their roles.

[two ladies tickets]

Posted: 6/22/24 at 4:00pm

They want The Music Box, they're waiting for Suffs to close. 

[ErmengardeStopSniveling]

Posted: 6/22/24 at 11:45pm

two ladies tickets said: "They want The Music Box, they're waiting for Suffs to close."

If one believes in theatre ghosts, they might find luck at the Jacobs, where Gielgud and Burton each worked a number of times. (The Lunt, where Burton's Hamlet actually played, is obviously out of the question for a play without major stars + is not a Shubert house.)

As always, it doesn't really matter what they want . . . if it can play the Music Box, it can just as easily play the Jacobs, Schoenfeld, Barrymore, Lyceum, Jones, etc. It always just comes down to timing and Shubert avail.