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The Motive and the Cue

at the Noël Coward Theatre

by Jack Thorne
A co-production with Neal Street Productions

Booking and details

9 December 2023 — 23 March 2024
This show has now ended
The event location is

Noël Coward Theatre

85-88 St Martin’s Lane, London, WC2N 4AP

Ticket bookings are processed on a 3rd party site operated by Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. Your personal and booking data will be shared with the National Theatre for analytical purposes.

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.

The hugely celebrated production of The Motive and the Cue transfers to the West End this December for 15 weeks only, following a sold-out run at the National Theatre.

 

The Motive and the Cue is inspired by Letters from an Actor by William Redfield and John Gielgud Directs Richard Burton in Hamlet by Richard L. Sterne.

Performed Until 23 March 2024 in the Noël Coward Theatre.

Reviews

★★★★★

‘Unmissably extraordinary. Two acting titans dazzle in a love letter to theatre’

Telegraph

★★★★★

‘Intimate yet epic in the way we long for from theatre yet rarely get’

The Times

★★★★★

‘A brilliant new play’

Financial Times

7 Reviews

Nominated for three Olivier Awards 2024 including:

  • Best New Play
  • Best Actor – Mark Gatiss
  • Best Director – Sam Mendes

Video

Johnny Flynn sits on a wooden chair in a rehearsal room. He is wearing a black suit, shirt and leather boots. Mark Gatiss stands next to him in a brown-green corduroy suit, white shirt and black tie.
Play Video

Watch the trailer

Gallery

Two men (Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn) sit upright on hard-backed chairs, staring intently at each other.
Two men (Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn) sit upright on hard-backed chairs, staring intently at each other.
Two men (Mark Gatiss and Johnny Flynn) sit upright on hard-backed chairs, staring intently at each other.
View 11 images
Thirteen people are sitting in hard-backed chairs around a long table, all looking towards a man who stands at one end, pointing to the man at the other end of the table. The room has high windows and pendant lights hanging above the length of the table. A woman (Tuppence Middleton) and a man (Mark Gattis) sit smiling, opposite each other, at either end of a long table. Both are wearing off-white clothes, the tablecloth is off-white, the floor is pale and the panelled wall behind them is red. A man (Johnny Flynn) sits in a cane chair, smiling. He wears a pale cardigan and open neck shirt. A woman (Tuppence Middleton) sits at a table, holding an unlit cigarette in a holder. She is wearing off-white clothes, the tablecloth is off-white and the panelled wall behind is red. A group of people are having a party in a large room with red panelled walls and cream furniture and floor. Some are standing, some sit on the sofa and chairs and some lie or kneel on the floor. There are two large bunches of white balloons. A man wearing a polo-neck jumper crouches, holding a sword in one hand, and his chin in the other. Two people sit on a sofa behind him. Three men sit in a line against a wall. One sits in an armchair, one slightly higher, sits on a cane chair and the third is highest, sitting on a table. They are all casually dressed in 60s style clothes. A woman wearing a pale cardigan over a dark top, and a long pale skirt, sits on a hard-backed chair, with a man sitting in the background. A man in apolo-neck jumper stands, leaning on a sword. Another man, in suit and waistcoat and holding a cane, stands looking at the first man. Three people are sitting in the background, watching. A woman (Tuppence Middleton) and a man (Luke Norris) sit together on a sofa, having an animated conversation. A bunch of tulips rise above the man's head.

Production images

A black and white portrait photo of Tuppence Middleton and Johnny Flynn, sitting close together, facing each other, with their eyes closed.
A black and white portrait photo of Tuppence Middleton and Johnny Flynn, sitting close together, facing each other, with their eyes closed.
A black and white portrait photo of Tuppence Middleton and Johnny Flynn, sitting close together, facing each other, with their eyes closed.
View 5 images
A black and white group portrait photo. Mark Gatiss stands behind an arcmchair in which sits Johnny Flynn, and on the arm of the chair sits a Tuppence Middleton. A black and white portrait photo of Johnny Flynn sitting in an arcmchair, turning round to look over the back, into the camera. A black and white portrait photo of a Mark Gatiss sitting in an arcmchair, looking slightly away from the camera. A black and white portrait photo of Tuppence Middleton, wearing heavy bracelets and necklace, sitting on the edge of an arcmchair, looking slightly up and away from the camera.

Portrait gallery

Photos by Michael Wharley

 

Suitability

Please note: This production contains strong language and adult themes, with some bright lighting. E-cigarettes are smoked onstage in this production.

 

Supporters

Supported by Mark Pigott KBE, KStJ, The Polonsky Foundation, Lawton W Fitt & James I McLaren Foundation, Dr Abe Peled, Monica Gerard-Sharp and Ali Wambold and Rosetrees Trust.

This play is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Plays Award.

This production is supported by the National Theatre’s Official Hotel Partner Edwardian Hotels.

 

Cast

Rebecca Collingwood
Rebecca Collingwood photo portrait

Rebecca Collingwood

Linda Marsh

Allan Corduner
Allan Corduner photo portrait

Allan Corduner

Hume Cronyn

Elena Delia
Elena Delia photo portrait

Elena Delia

Jessica Levy

Ryan Ellsworth
Ryan Ellsworth photo portrait

Ryan Ellsworth

George Voskovec / Understudy Sir John Gielgud

 

Production team

Playwright

Jack Thorne

Director

Sam Mendes

Sam Mendes

Set Designer

Es Devlin

Es Devlin

Costume Designer

Katrina Lindsay

Katrina Lindsay

Lighting Designer

Jon Clark

Jon Clark

Composer

Benjamin Kwasi Burrell

Benjamin Kwasi Burrell

Sound Designer

Paul Arditti

Paul Arditti

Casting

Alastair Coomer CDG

Alastair Coomer CDG

Casting

Naomi Downham

Naomi Downham

West End Director

Zoé Ford Burnett

Zoé Ford Burnett

Asociate Director

Yasmin Hafesji

Yasmin Hafesji

Associate Set Designer

Amalie White

Amalie White

Associate Lighting Designer

Ben Jacobs

Ben Jacobs

Associate Lighting Designer

George Lumkin

Dialect Coach

Charmian Hoare

Charmian Hoare

 

The Motive and the Cue ticket prices

All bookings are handled by the Noel Coward Theatre Box Office

Tickets from £20

Groups rate

10+ tickets
Monday – Thursday performances
Bands A and B – £50 (£48.50 + £1.50)
Excluding performances in the weeks beginning 25 December,  1 January and 12 February
A maximum of 50-60 tickets per performance.
Delfont Mackintosh Group booking information

Schools rate

10+ tickets
Band C – £25 (£23.50 + £1.50)
A free teacher ticket is available for every 10 paid tickets ordered (11 tickets for the price of 10).
Excluding performances in the weeks beginning 25 December,  1 January and 12 February
A maximum of 50-60 tickets per performance.
Delfont Mackintosh Schools booking information

Group and Education phone enquiries: 0344 482 5100 (Calls to Delfont Mackintosh Theatres’ 03 numbers cost no more than a national rate call to an 01 or 02 number).

 

Assisted performances

BSL Interpreted performance

Saturday 3 February at 2pm

Audio-Described performances

Thursday 29 February at 7.30pm
Saturday 16 March at 2pm

Captioned performances

Tuesday 20 February at 7.30pm
Saturday 9 March at 2pm

Access tickets are bookable via Delfont Mackintosh only.

Email: access@delfontmackintosh.co.uk

Phone the Access booking line: 0344 482 5137 (open 10am – 6pm daily, excluding Bank Holidays).

 

Artwork photography by Michael Wharley