Eddie Izzard's Hamlet comes to London

Comic takes on 23 roles in Shakespeare's tragedy

Eddie Izzard's solo performance of Hamlet is coming to London.

The comic's version of Shakespeare’s classic will run at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith for six weeks from May 23, following a hit run in New York, where it has just extended its run to April 14.

Hamlet is Izzard's second solo theatrical show following last year’s performance of Charles Dickens’ Great Expectations, which also played in New York and London. Both shows were adapted by the comic's younger brother Mark and directed by Selina Cadell,

In Hamlet, Izzard will take on 23 characters. She said: 'I have always gravitated towards playing complex and challenging characters, and Hamlet is the ultimate.

'This is a production for everyone, a timeless drama with an accidental hero. Selina, Mark and I want audiences to see and hear an accessible, touching, scary and dramatic Hamlet.'

The show has had mixed reviews The Daily Telegraph gave the show a four-star review, calling in 'absorbing and intimate' and praising Izzard's 'impressive sweeping performance'.

But the New York Times said Izzard is 'a wildly witty ad-libber, but a play straitjackets this gift' adding: 'Izzard didn’t perform Hamlet so much as become defeated by it.'

Tickets for the new London run go on sale at 10am on Wednesday.

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Published: 25 Mar 2024