Watch trailer for National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue
Watch trailer
National Theatre Live: The Motive and the Cue
Opens on June 9
Director: Sam Mendes Run Time: 165 min. Release Year: 2024
Starring: Aysha Kala, Johnny Flynn, Luke Norris, Mark Gatiss, Tuppence Middleton
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.