They came slowly at first, some alone, others arriving in pairs, with blankets, sleeping bags and boxes of cereal under their arms. It was going to be a long night but all were united by a single goal – that, by 10.30 on Wednesday morning, a ticket to see Benedict Cumberbatch in the opening night of Hamlet would be theirs.
Such was the desperation to get hold of one of only 30 £10 tickets that the Barbican in London will release each night for Cumberbatch’s portrayal of the Dane that some queuers waited out in the cold for 17 hours on Tuesday night. Indeed, all those who arrived in line after 6.01 on Wednesday morning found themselves among the ranks of the disappointed.
Standing proudly at the front of the queue were Chiara Russo, 19, and Giorgia Alonghi, 18, both from Rome but working in London over the summer. The pair arrived at 3pm on Tuesday but soon regretted their decision not to bring blankets as night fell and they huddled up against the temporary barricades.
“I’m here because I love Benedict,” said Alonghi, who is no stranger to queuing, having once sat in line for 30 hours to get front-row seats to Ed Sheeran. “I think he is a great actor and I love the way you can see his characters’ emotions in his eyes. Hamlet is not my favourite Shakespeare – I prefer Othello – but maybe Benedict Cumberbatch will convince me.”
Having been a fan of Cumberbatch for five years, since the first season of Sherlock, for Alonghi this was nothing short of a “dream come true”.
She added: “I know I may not get the best tickets, but to see him in the flesh is enough for me.”
At only £10, these ticket are close to gold dust. The first batch, which went on sale in August last year, sold out so quickly that the production became the fastest-selling show in London theatre history and bids for tickets have now reached £1,500 online. In order to deter touts, the Barbican has now introduced a strict photo ID policy for all ticketholders.
But while it may be Cumberbatch’s name on the posters and in the headlines, for some in the queue it was simply the pull of Shakespeare that had them out sitting on the chilly Barbican pavement for more than 12 hours.
“I’ve queued because it’s Shakespeare – I don’t think much of Cumberbatch to be honest,” said trainee barrister Aisling Selvakumaran, 26, who arrived at 6pm on Tuesday. “I don’t think he’s a good actor, he just plays himself over and over again. But I do want to compare his performance to David Tennant’s Hamlet.”
Indeed, she may not be among the hordes of Cumberfans, but Tuesday was Selvakumaran’s second time queuing for tickets for this production of Hamlet.
“I was here alone last year when they did first sales, so I came and queued from 3am, pacing up and down in front of the doors all night because no one else turned up till 9am then,” she said. “But my professional ethics exam got rescheduled on the same day and so I’ve had to come down and queue overnight again. It’s insane.”
Her companion, Elise Sayre, a 20-year-old trainee director, was equally sceptical about whether Cumberbatch’s Hamlet would rank among the greats but said it was worth the 14-hour wait regardless. “I just don’t want him to repeat the same performance that he always does and doesn’t play Hamlet as the same broody anti-social genius type,” she said. “I’m hoping he’ll charge it up a bit.”
Scattered among the patiently queuing hoards were people of all nationalities, a testament to Cumberbatch’s huge international appeal. Holidaying fans from Israel, China and Switzerland were all near the front of the line, and Emma Goode, 26, an actress from Los Angeles, specifically booked three days at the end of her travels around Europe to come to London just to see the show.
“There was no way I was going to miss this,” she said. “There’s very little that will get me out of bed at four in the morning and have me sitting outside in the London cold, but Benendict Cumberbatch as Hamlet is worth it.”
In Goode’s opinion, the Sherlock actor will make the perfect Hamlet. “In The Imitation Game, Alan Turing could have been played as someone really unlikeable and two-dimensional but the way Cumberbatch played it was so interesting and so layered – he was a jerk but you felt for him,” she said, prompting nods of agreement from her neighbours. “I think Hamlet is a similar character – kind of whiny, and easy to hate, so I think Cumberbatch will play it in a really unexpected way.”
Yet not all were so lucky. Sitting towards the back, at number 52 and 53 in the queue, were 75-year-old Judith Boxley and Nancy Jenkins, 58, who had just met but said they were having a great time – despite having missed out on one of the 30 tickets.
“This is the first time I’ve queued for anything and now I’m mad at myself for not getting up earlier,” giggled Jenkins. “I think I might come back tomorrow as I’m having so much fun in this queue.”
