Dr Who Signings Banned At RSC

[RitaLittlewood]

Interesting little blog from The Stage:

Chit chat - Who’d believe it?
Published Tuesday 29 July 2008 at 17:05 by Tabard

And I’ll tell you who else isn’t happy this week. Whovians.

Or, Doctor Who fans to you and me. They - along with sci-fi fans of all descriptions - have been banned from turning up at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s stage door and demanding that David Tennant (currently playing Hamlet for the theatre company) comes out and signs their Tardises (yes, that is the plural).

Not that Tennant (or his co-star Patrick Stewart, who played Jean Luc Picard in Star Trek - another sci-fi fan favourite) is refusing to sign autographs. He just won’t sign your full-size replica Dalek.

Hamlet programmes or autograph books - presuming it is actually an autograph book and not some ‘slightly psychic paper’ (ask a Whovian) - are just fine.

Still not everyone is happy.

Here’s a sample from a Doctor Who notice board: “Patrick Stewart and David Tennant do a job - it’s a high profile and extraordinarily well-paid job but it’s a job. Did the RSC hire or ask these two actors to play their parts because they were the absolute best actors for the job or was there a little bit of the ‘bums on seats’ creeping in when they hired two incredibly popular and current actors?

“Of course they hired Dave and Paddy because one is Doctroo [sic] and the other is Picard (and I know all about Paddy’s RSC career so don’t bother me there). I think it’s mean. Just plain mean,” huffs the disgruntled fan.

“I’m not defending the over-zealous and money-grabbing ‘fans’ who want everything signed for profit. Perhaps they should just sign one item each instead. After all, are the paying audience going to see Hamlet because they want a bit of Shakespeare? No,” he puffs. “Hamlet’s being performed all over the country dozens of times by dozens of companies. The audience are more than likely going because it’s Dave and Paddy from the telly.”

So, there.

[sootycat]

From Paul Callan In The Daily Express.


HAMLET has it all: political intrigue, madness, crippling grief, hysterics, lust, incestuous feelings, boiling anger and even a little love. All human strife is there, you might say.

Thus it is disappointing that David Tennant pitches his Hamlet – probably The Bard’s most complex role – somewhere between One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest and The Goon Show.

His interpretation of the brooding Dane’s increasing madness relies too much on quirkiness, pulling faces and various funny voices. You might say that he even gurns for Denmark in a performance that fails to search adequately for the key to Hamlet’s soul.

Tennant is a victim of the success of popular culture, due to his brilliant turn as our favourite Time Lord, gadding around in his trusty Tardis.

Perhaps that is part of the attraction in seeing him cast in such a classic epic as Hamlet. (I am slightly disappointed that director Gregory Doran does not cash in on this and transform, say, that dubious duo Rosencrantz and Guildenstern into snarling Daleks. But I jest.)

It would have been advisable if Tennant had waited until he moved on from being the Doctor before tackling such a complicated role.

Ironically, this production is a case of Doctor Who meets Star Trek. The scheming Claudius, Hamlet’s stepfather, is formidably played by Patrick Stewart, who now appears to have put the role of Captain Jean-Luc Picard well behind him.

[RitaLittlewood]

LOL! Patrick Stewart was already an established stage thespian long before ST came along. He wouldn't have a problem with it. Be interesting how Tennant gets on as the season progresses.

Patsy