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Whenever the Royal Shakespeare Company mounts a new production of “Hamlet,” it’s bound to be an event. Some of the greatest actors of all time have taken a crack at William Shakespeare’s definitive work for the RSC, but there’s rarely been a buzzier staging than the one in 2008. There, David Tennant, in the midst of his celebrated run as the Tenth Doctor on “Doctor Who,” played the troubled Prince of Denmark. That would’ve been enough to pack the house throughout the run, but the occasion got an extra science fiction-adjacent boost via the casting of Patrick Stewart as the treacherous King Claudius.
Directed by Gregory Doran, this particular production received mostly rave reviews, with critics hailing Tennant’s “galvanizingly taut lead performance.” They were also knocked flat by Stewart’s portrayal of Claudius as a “supremely composed, calculating killer.” Basically, his performance took many of Captain Jean-Luc Picard’s finest qualities and put them to blood-curdlingly evil use. This wouldn’t be the first time Stewart portrayed an utterly vile human being (he’s particularly frightening as the leader of a neo-Nazi outfit in Jeremy Saulnier’s superb “Green Room”), but to see him do it in the gloriously heightened language of Shakespeare is a rare treat.
This production was so special that the RSC filmed it for television and released it on DVD in 2009. It’s currently available to buy digitally for $19.99 on Amazon, but if you keep your eyes peeled, you might catch a re-broadcast on PBS’ “Great Performances.”
Interestingly, this wasn’t Stewart’s first time appearing in “Hamlet” for the RSC, either. In fact, he was a part of what’s considered by many to be the company’s finest production, which starred another actor who would go on to be known for a couple of science fiction classics.
Before playing Claudius, Patrick Stewart acted in Hamlet with the man who would be Evil
In 1965, a 24-year-old David Warner played Hamlet on stage under the direction of the esteemed Peter Hall. Those who were fortunate to see it thought Warner was the perfect prince for the mod era of London — and no one was more impressed than Sir Patrick Stewart. Writing about Warner in 2022 for The Guardian, Stewart admitted:
“I had never conceived or imagined a performance like David’s. He was so human, so sensitive, yet impetuous. Even when speaking the speeches I knew by heart, I felt he was improvising them, simply responding to his feelings and circumstances.”
When the production entered the repertoire, Stewart took on the role of the Player King. There, the lessons he learned from Warner “kept him going for decades.”
Warner, of course, would go on to play memorable sci-fi villains in Terry Gilliam’s “Time Bandits” (as Evil) and Steven Lisberger’s “Tron” (as Ed Dillinger/Sark). He also played Gul Madred in the “Chain of Command” episode of “Star Trek: The Next Generation.” In fact, the sci-fi genre has long been a cinematic refuge for Shakespearean-trained actors, which has, in turn, inspired more than a few youngsters to learn more about these great performers and get bit by the acting bug. I was one of those kids, and owe a great debt to David Tennant, Warner and, of course, Stewart.
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