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20/05/2008, 16:54 BST
Doctor Who Takes A Break In The States
There will be no new episode of Doctor Who for fans in America this week. The
show will return to the Sci Fi Channel on Friday 30th May with the episode The Poison Sky.
Trailer And Treats For UK Doctor Who Fans
The BBC Doctor Who site will have some treats for fans disappointed by the lack of Doctor Who this Saturday.
The show has been taken off due to The Eurovision Song Contest, but if you tune into BBC One on
Saturday 24th May, at 18.45pm, you can see a special sneak preview of the rest of Doctor Who Series Four!
Doctor Who will return the following week, Saturday 31st May, with Silence In The Library.
Steven Moffat To Take Charge
BBC Wales and BBC Drama has announced that Bafta and Hugo Award winning writer Steven Moffat will
succeed Russell T Davies as Lead Writer and Executive Producer of the fifth series of Doctor Who, which will broadcast on
BBC One in 2010.
Moffat has penned some of the series' most unforgettable and acclaimed episodes - including Blink with its terrifying Weeping
Angels, for which he was awarded the Bafta Writer Award 2008 on Sunday 11th May. His previous work on Doctor Who includes
The Girl in the Fireplace for Series Two, which earned him his second Hugo Award.
His first was for the Series One two-parter The Empty Child, which became famous for its terrifying refrain 'Are you my
mummy?'
For the current series, Moffat has written Silence in the Library, a two parter starring Alex Kingston which transmits
on 31st May and 7th June 2008 on BBC One.
Steven's career began with the landmark ITV children's drama Press Gang in 1989, for which he won his first Bafta. Coupling,
the hugely popular and award winning sitcom he created and wrote for BBC Two, began in 2000 and ran for four seasons. Jekyll,
his six part thriller starring James Nesbitt and Michelle Ryan, transmitted on BBC One last year.
Steven will continue as one of the directors on the board of Hartswood Films which produced Coupling and Jekyll, where
he is also working on his new comedy Adam & Eve with wife Sue Vertue. He has just delivered the screenplay for Tintin,
the first instalment of the trilogy of films featuring the iconic Belgian comic-strip hero, to Steven Spielberg who will direct
it for DreamWorks. Thomas Sangster and Andy Serkis will star.
"My entire career has been a Secret Plan to get this job," said Steven Moffat. "I applied before but I got knocked back
cos the BBC wanted someone else. Also I was seven. Anyway, I'm glad the BBC has finally seen the light, and it's a huge honour
to be following Russell into the best - and the toughest - job in television. I say "toughest" cos Russell's at my window
right now, pointing and laughing."
"It's been a delight and an honour working with Steven," said Russell T Davis, "I can't wait to see where his extraordinary
imagination takes the Doctor. Best of all, I get to be a viewer again, watching on a Saturday night!"
"BBC Wales is very proud of Doctor Who's phenomenal success," added Menna Richards, Controller, BBC Wales. "Steven Moffat
is an extraordinary talent and we are very much looking forward to him joining the Doctor Who team."
Jane Tranter, Controller BBC Fiction, added her praise. "Scripts and writers are at the heart of what BBC Drama is all
about, and especially at the heart of Doctor Who. The past four series have been brilliantly helmed by the spectacularly talented
Russell T Davies. As lead writer and executive producer, he has overseen the creative direction and detail of the 21st century
relaunch of Doctor Who and we are delighted to have his continued presence on the specials over the next 18 months.
"But the challenge and excitement of the fifth series is now being handed to Steven Moffat. The Tardis couldn't be in safer
hands. Steven's talents on both Doctor Who and beyond are well known. He is a writer of glittering brilliance, comedy and
depth, with an extraordinary imagination and a unique voice. Steven has a wonderful mix of being a committed Doctor Who fan
and a true artist, and his plans for the next series are totally thrilling."
The announcement follows the news that Piers Wenger will take over the role of Executive Producer from Julie Gardner on
Series Five of Doctor Who.
"The challenge of taking Doctor Who to a new future is a huge and thrilling one and BBC Wales is blessed to have someone
with Steven's extraordinary talent in charge," said Piers." His imagination and creativity have already given birth to some
of the series' most unforgettable monsters though in this instance no one need fear; Time, space and the future of The Doctor
are safe with him."
Wenger and Moffat are already working closely together on the planning of the series.
Series four has achieved some of the show's highest audience figures to date and forthcoming episodes feature a stellar
line up of guests including Lesley Sharp, Lindsey Coulson, Alex Kingston, Colin Salmon and Michael Brandon. Freema Agyeman
and Billie Piper - The Doctor's two former companions - have also returned to assist The Doctor in series four.
Doctor Who will return in 2009 with four specials, and the full length fifth series is currently scheduled to be broadcast
on BBC One in Spring 2010.
18/05/2008, 16:51 BST
Nemesis
Screen caps from the new episode of Doctor Who Confidential,
Nemesis, are now online here. The episode is available to view on BBC iplayer here.
The Unicorn And The Wasp Overnight Viewing Figures
Unofficial overnight viewing figures suggest that The Unicorn
And The Wasp was watched by 7.7m viewers. It was the most watched programme on BBC One of the day.
17/05/2008, 22:00pm BST
The Unicorn And The Wasp Update
Yet another fantastic episode of Doctor Who! Let us know what
you thought of The Unicorn And The Wasp on the forum.
Screen caps from the episode are online now and can be viewed here.
- Visit The Unicorn And The Wasp section here.
17/05/2008, 16:43pm BST
Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat Update
Screen Caps of David on Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat have now been added
to the site. You can view them here.
If you missed the episode there are repeats on E4 and Channel 4 this week,
check the diary for ore details. It can also be viewed online here.
The Unicorn And The Wasp At 19:00pm On BBC One
In 1926, Agatha Christie disappeared for 10 days. Was it amnesia? A nervous breakdown? Or a Giant Alien Wasp..?
As Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues, the Doctor and Donna join forces with the world's
most famous crime novelist to encounter a body in the library, poisoned cocktails and a Vespiform seeking revenge.
The Unicorn And The Wasp airs at 19:00pm on BBC One tonight.
Don't forget to switch over to BBC Three at 19:45pm to
watch the new Doctor Who Confidential episode.
- Visit The Unicorn And The Wasp section here.
16/05/2008, 16:36pm BST
Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat Tonight 22:00pm Channel 4
Don't forget to tune into Channel 4 at 22:00pm
tonight to watch David on Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat.
The Channel 4 website says:
Actor David Tennant is ambushed by Derren while
filming on location.
He agrees to undergo a series of experiments
that have him experiencing the feeling of time-travel.
Can Dr Who regress back in time and witness
an event from the '30s?
And can he then travel forward to predict a
news event days before it happens?
After the experience, David said "I think the scientific logic of it is
that Derren's a witch... I'm happy to go with that. It's not something I'm familiar with, prediciting the future. It's something
I'm dabbling with for the first time... but I'm glad it's been brought out of me in such an exciting way."
It has also been confirmed that David will be featured again in episode
6 of the series which will air on Friday 6th June.
The Sontaran Stratagem On Sci Fi Tonight
Martha Jones summons the Doctor back to modern-day Earth, but an old enemy lies in wait, as Russell T Davies's
Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. With the mysterious ATMOS devices spreading across the world, Donna discovers
that even her own family is not safe from the alien threat – but is it too late to save them?
The Sontaran
Stratagem sees the return of the lovely Freema Agyeman as Martha Jones. Speaking about tonight's episode Freema says
"There's a twist which means we will see a whole new side to Martha! It's a very exciting development - fans will be blown
away."
Will Martha
still be pining with unrequited love for the Doctor? Apparently not.. "Martha's got someone new in her life. She’s
engaged – to another doctor as it happens. Martha left the Doctor to be with her family and complete her medical training,”
she explains. "But because of all the experience she had battling aliens as his companion she also works for [paranormal investigation
agency] UNIT. That's made her tougher and more independent from the Doctor. In the last series they had a kind of student-teacher
relationship, whereas now she knows how to tackle dangerous aliens on her own. In a way, she’s outgrown him."
The Sontaran Stratagem airs tonight on The Sci Fi Channel at
9/8 C.
- Visit The Sontaran Stratagem section here.
- Click here to view the Sci Fi Channel The Sontaran Stratagem trailer.
Doctor Who: Silence In The Library Postponed For Eurovision
Episode 8 of Doctor Who, Silence In The Library, has been postponed until
19:00pm on Saturday 31st May, to make way for the Eurovision Song Contest on BBC One on Saturday 24th May.
The BBC Press Office have released the following details of the episode:
One hundred years ago, the Universe's greatest library
was sealed off with only a cryptic warning as explanation: "Count the shadows."
However, it now appears that the shadows are on the
move again, as Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. The Doctor and Donna must uncover the
terrible truth behind the Nodes and the horrifying Data Ghost to uncover the Library's secret.
David Tennant plays the Doctor and Catherine
Tate plays his companion, Donna Noble. Alex Kingston, Colin Salmon and Steve Pemberton guest star in this episode.
Doctor Who Adventures #64 Details
The Doctor and his daughter Jenny can be found on the latest cover
of Doctor Who Adventures magazine.
Inside the magazine we look at our favourite things about this episode
and take a sneak preview of this Saturday’s trip to the 1920s.
This issue’s free gift is essential for fans of the Time Lord
– a special Doctor dress-up kit – with a pair of glasses, a sonic screwdriver and two cool badges. The gift’s
brilliant for acting out your own Doctor Who episodes…
PLUS:
• Three cool posters: Martha and the Hath, UNIT’s Ross
Jenkins, The Doctor’s Daughter, and the High Priestess
• Tales from the TARDIS: A scary scene from The Fires of Pompeii.
• Activity: How to draw a Pyrovile – look out, it could
get hot!
• Make: A cute Adipose mask. All together now: ‘Ahh!’
• Quiz: How well do you remember The Doctor’s Daughter?
• Secrets: Discover how an actor turned into Oodkind.
• Doctor's Data: Fascinating facts about Ood Sigma!
• Comic strip: Part two of Nightmare on the Boulevard –
trouble for the Doctor and Donna in Hollywood.
• Time Teasers: Solve our Mountain Menace and match the ear
to the monster.
• Who knows!: What happened to the Carrionites and have the
Daleks ever captured a companion?
• Win: the final part of our Ood head win (worth £700) plus
loads of other goodies are waiting to be won!
• Subscription offer: Subscribe and you’ll get a FREE
Doctor Who Micro Universe toy!
• ALL THIS AND LOADS MORE!
Doctor Who Adventures issue 64, priced £2.10, is out now. A new issue
is available across the universe every Thursday.
15/05/2008, 17:30pm BST
Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat Preview Clips
The Channel 4 website have a couple of preview videos of tomorrow's episode
of Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat that stars David.
You can view the first one 'Doctor What' here and the second one 'Cat Scan' here.
You can also se some preview caps here.
Doctor Who Articles Update
Articlesfor The Unicorn And The Wasp and The Doctor's Daughter have now
been added. You can view them here.
14/05/2008, 11:38am BST
David Backs Academy Campaign
David Tennant has joined the campaign
to prevent cutbacks at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama (RSAMD) in Glasgow.
The actor credited the college for starting him on the road to fame
and said he was "deeply unsettled" by the prospect of cuts.
The college has to make £600,000 of savings in the coming year.
A funding anomaly also means drama students receive less funding than
music students.
In a strongly worded statement, Mr Tennant urged the academy board
to think again about the prospect of cutting jobs and introducing more part-time contracts.
He said: "Nothing I have managed to achieve in my career would have
happened without my training at the RSAMD.
"The drama training I received was world class and the idea that the
opportunities I got there might be compromised for future generations is deeply upsetting.
"I am incredibly proud to be a graduate of RSAMD and Scotland is rightly
proud to have such an important arts training ground at its heart.
"I have seen how Scotland's actors are valued and admired throughout
the world. I would hate to see a lack of both immediate and long-term funding jeopardise the future of that hard won reputation."
His statement follows an equally outspoken one from actor John Hannah
and campaigners hope to persuade other famous former students to follow suit.
'Quality graduates'
Alumni include Billy Boyd, Alan Cumming, Dawn Steele, Gregor Fisher,
Elaine C Smith, Tom Conti, Robert Carlyle, John Hannah, Ruby Wax, Hannah Gordon and Bill Paterson.
It also follows a high profile protest outside the Scottish Parliament
where the RSAMD's entire symphony orchestra, brass band and Scottish music ensemble performed for public and politicians.
Representatives of the campaign will meet the Scottish Funding Council
(SFC), which has promised an independent consultant to reassess the drama school's funding needs, later on Wednesday.
Student president Barry McAleer said: "We've still a long way to go,
but this is very positive news, and a great step forward in our campaign to safeguard key staff and the RSAMD's position as
an internationally renowned centre of cultural excellence for Scotland.
"We're very much looking forward to welcoming the SFC representative
to the RSAMD and to showing why we are so proud of what we do for Scotland and the quality of the graduates we produce."
The Scottish Government has so far refused to intervene, leaving the
matter to the RSAMD board, but campaigners say as Scotland's only national conservatoire, it merits intervention.
- You can read a Q&A session that David did with students of the
RSAMD here.
13/05/2008, 16:19pm BST
Headway Essex Cards Update
Thanks to all of you who have already purchased
one of the cards that David signed to raise money for Headway Essex. The total raised from your donations is currently
standing at around £9,500. If you haven't donated and got your hands on one of the fantastic cards already then you still
have time and don't forget that now overseas fans can get one too.
Full details on how to go about donating and receiving your signed card
from David are here.
12/05/2008, 14:33pm BST
David's Doctor Voted TV's Sexiest Male Character
David was yesterday named the sexiest man on TV, for his role as The Doctor
in Doctor Who, in a poll carried out by digital channel Hallmark.
He picked up a quarter of the votes from the
1600 people asked.
38 per cent said charisma was the key component
for a leading man.
Looking good came
a close second on 36 per cent - while 12 per cent said "not playing by the rules" was important.
Anna Friel was named the sexiest female for
her role as Chuck in Pushing Daisies.
Sins Of The Father
Screen caps from the new episode of Doctor Who Confidential,
Sins Of The Father, are now online here. The episode is available to view on BBC iplayer here.
The Doctor's Daughter Overnight Viewing Figures
Unofficial overnight viewing figures suggest that The Doctor's
Daughter was watched by 6.6m viewers. It was the most watched programme on BBC One of the day.
David Attends The Opening Night Of That Face
On Friday David was amongst guests at the opening night of the
West End transfer of Polly Stenham's multi award-winning debut play That Face. You can see more photos here.
10/05/2008, 21:30pm BST
The Doctor's Daughter Update
What a fantastic episode of Doctor Who! Let us know what you
thought of The Doctor's Daughter on the forum.
Screen caps from the episode are online now and can be viewed here.
The episode can be viewed on BBCi Player here.
- Visit The Doctor's Daughter section here.
10/05/2008, 15:39pm BST
The Doctor's Daughter Tonight At 18:45pm On BBC One
The Doctor meets the most important woman of his
life on the distant planet Messaline, in the middle of an endless war, as Russell T Davies's Bafta Award-winning time-travelling
drama continues.
But
as General Cobb threatens genocide, and Martha is kidnapped by the Hath, the Doctor faces an even greater battle – can
he find peace with his own child?
The Doctor's Daughter airs at 18:45pm on BBC One tonight.
Don't forget to switch over to BBC Three at 19:30pm to
watch the new Doctor Who Confidential episode.
- Visit The Doctor's Daughter section here.
Hello! Magazine Vote
David has been nominated as the 'Most Attractive Man Of The Month' again on the Hello! Magazine website.
If you would like to vote for him you can do so here.
09/05/2008, 16:33pm BST
The Planet Of The Ood On Sci Fi
The Doctor
takes Donna far into the future, visiting her first alien world. The duo discover shocking truths about the human race while
on the planet Ood-Sphere, as the enslaved inhabitants struggle for survival.
The Planet Of The Ood includes some amazing
scenes and David did his own stunts for the episode refusing to use a trained specialist to shoot fight scenes with a
giant mechanical claw.
David says: "I wasn't doubled for any of it
because it was throwing yourself around, which I enjoy."
He wore knee and elbow protectors under his
clothes to smash into barrels and leap over containers.
Speaking of the Doctor's reunion with the Ood
David said: "The Ood heads are so squeezable, you just want to bite them."
The Planet Of The Ood airs tonight on The Sci Fi Channel
at 9/8 C.
- Visit The Planet Of The Ood section here.
- Click here to view the Sci Fi Channel Partners In Crime trailer.
07/05/2008, 13:31pm BST
DVD Release Information
Click a pic to enlarge!
The artwork and further details about the DVD releases of Takin' Over
The Asylum and Secret Smile are now available.
Firstly Takin' Over The Asylum, which will be released in the UK on 2nd
June 2008, has been confirmed as having David's original never seen before audition tape and a commentary by David as extras.
Secret Smile also sees a welcome release onto DVD in the USA on 20th May
2008. No extras are known of at the moment.
Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat Air Date Confirmed
The episode of Derren Brown: Trick Or Treat that features David will be
shown on Friday 16th May at 22:00pm om Channel 4.
05/05/2008, 16:47pm BST
Shakespearean Costumes On Display
Costumes worn by David Tennant, Sir Ian McKellen and Sir
John Gielgud in Shakespearean plays will form an exhibition as part of Northampton's Venezia! festival.
The Royal Shakespeare Company exhibition includes
a doublet worn by David when he played Romeo in the RSC's millennium production.
Other costumes on display at Northampton Museum
and Art Gallery include those worn by Dame Peggy Ashcroft, Michael Redgrave and Alice Barclay in The Taming of the Shrew.
The exhibition started on Saturday and runs
until August 10.
04/05/2008, 17:09pm BST
First Photo Of David As Hamlet
Click pic to enlarge!
The first photo of David to advertise his role as Hamlet has been featured
in today's Sunday Times Culture supplement.
David's Hamlet has been chosen as their theatre pick of the summer:
"DAVID TENNANT’S HAMLET
JULY 24-NOVEMBER
15
Having triumphed as Doctor Who, can he win over hearts and minds as the prince of Denmark? It’s a homecoming
for Tennant: he was famed as a stage actor long before he got into the Tardis. Gregory Doran directs. Courtyard, Stratford-upon-Avon;
www.rsc.org.uk"
Sontar-Ha!
Screen caps from last night's new episode of Doctor Who Confidential,
Sontar-Ha!, are now online here. The episode is available to view on BBC iplayer here.
03/05/2008, 21:08pm BST
The Poison Sky Update
Yet another brilliant episode of Doctor Who, let us know
what you thought of The Poison Sky on the forum.
Screen caps from the episode are online now and can be viewed here.
The episode can be viewed on BBCi Player here.
03/05/2008, 08:51am BST
The Poison Sky Tonight At 18:20pm On BBC One
The Sontarans activate their masterplan and begin to choke the whole of planet Earth, as Russell T Davies's
Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. UNIT is left defenceless, with a traitor in their ranks. And as interplanetary
war edges closer, the Doctor has to fight to keep both Martha and Donna alive – but will he have to make the ultimate
sacrifice?
The Poison Sky airs at 18:20pm on BBC One tonight.
Don't forget to switch over to BBC Three at 19:05pm to
watch the new Doctor Who Confidential episode. You can see a sneak peek over on the BBC Site now.
- Visit The Poison Sky section here.
David Talks About His Dad
The following is a snippet from Dads: A Celebration
Of Fatherhood From Britain's Finest And Funniest, by Sarah Brown and Gil McNeil, to be published on May 29:
Actor David Tennant, 37, a.k.a. Dr Who,
grew up in Ralston, Renfrewshire, where his father, Sandy McDonald, was the local Church of Scotland minister.
When
you're a child you blithely assume that your dad knows everything. Now, aged 37, I have to admit that mine probably does.
I don't mean he could rattle off the kings of England in order, or work out the quantity of dark matter in the universe
on the back of a napkin (although he'd probably give it a good go); it's the dad stuff he's good at.
Problem with
the car? Confusion over the house insurance? Need to put a shelf up? Even how do you blanch broccoli? I'll call my dad.
He'll
always have an answer, or at least know where to find one. (Anything involving gadgets, for instance, gets outsourced to his
mate John, who lives nearby in a house full of self-soldered circuit boards and half-built computers.)
But it worries
me. I'll be 40 in a few years: shouldn't I already know how to tile a bathroom wall?
Where does Dad get all this knowledge
from? Is it instinct? Was he born knowing how to replace a fanbelt? Did he rely on his father for all these life skills? Were
they passed down like an Olympic torch, practicality burning down the generations?
Trouble is, I think I'm in danger
of dropping it. In years to come, when my kids phone me up to ask how to reignite their boiler, I'll have to put them on to
Granddad.
I know it's not just me - my brother and sister are the same. Luckily, despite being 70 and with one false
hip, my dad is still the most energetic, indefatigable man you're ever likely to meet.
Thank goodness for that. You've
got years of cutting down trees and fixing curtain rails ahead of you, Dad. No peaceful retirement for you, I'm afraid. We'd
be neck-deep in chaos without you.
Derren Brown Trick Or Treat Update
David's episode of Trick Or Treat is scheduled to air on Friday 23rd May.
We'll keep you up to date on any further details as we get them.
DWM #395 Details
Click the pic to enlarge!
David Tennant reveals his love of Sontarans.
"Sontarans are great," enthused the Doctor
Who star in an exclusive chat with Doctor Who Magazine.
"I think that's partly because they come from
a very specific world. That back story gives them a great context. Robert Holmes didn't just create a race, back in the 1970s:
he created a world that they came from. Even if you never saw that planet, you understood why they did what they did."
Also in the latest issue: Georgia Moffett discusses
what it's like being the Doctor's Daughter; Russell T Davies reveals all about Partners in Crime's top secret scene in Production
Notes; a crisis in the Caribbean as Donna makes her comic strip début in Part One of The Widow's Curse; plus behind-the-scenes
features on The Fires Of Pompeii and Planet Of The Ood.
Doctor Who Magazine issue 395 is out on Thursday
01 May 2008, priced at £3.99.
Doctor Who Adventures #62
Click pic to enlarge!
This week’s
issue of Doctor Who Adventures prepares you for a battle with the Sontarans.
Check out our favourite bits from last week’s
adventure and get the lowdown on what scares to expect in part two of the Sontaran story, The Poison Sky.
Are you a Friend of the Ood? Yes? Then make
sure you enter the first part of our three-part win a life-size Ood head competition!
The issue comes with a FREE Doctor Who Adventures
keyring plus a set of monster bouncy balls featuring some of the menacing creatures from the series!
PLUS:
• Three cool posters: The Doctor and Donna, The Sontaran Stratagem
and the Sisters in The Fires of Pompeii.
• Tales from the TARDIS: Mickey activates the Dalek Genesis
Ark by accident!
• Quiz: How well do you know the Sontarans?
• Activity: Make a creepy Pyrovile mask.
• Secrets: Behind the scenes with Doctor Who Confidential –
find out how the Adipose came to life.
• Doctor's Data: The Adipose.
• Comic strip: The Doctor uncovers a secret in Vienna…
• Time Teasers: Loads of puzzles to solve – hunt the hands
and untangle the Ood tentacles!
• Who knows! Who made the sonic screwdriver and which Doctor
has had the most companions?
• Win: Bag some great gifts!
• Subscription offer: If you subscribe you’ll get a FREE
Doctor Who audiobook!
• ALL THIS AND MORE!
Doctor Who Adventures issue 62, priced £2.10, is out on Thursday 1
May. Essential reading for time travellers and friendly aliens! Not for unfriendly monsters.
29/04/2008, 14:02pm BST
RSC Director Interview
Greg Doran, who will be the director of Hamlet
and Love's Labours Lost, has given an interview to the RSC during which he talks about the productions and David's
role in them. We have a few extracts below and you can read the whole interview here.
What are the qualities that David Tennant
will bring to the role? Why did you cast him?
It is a play that waits for the right actor
to come along. It is a self-defining role.
The Hamlet will be to some extent who David is. At the same time you have to
have an actor who can be, as Ophelia describes him, ‘the poet, the soldier,
the scholar.’ You have to have
someone who is all those things – someone who is charismatic and can be brutal and course and can be witty and moving
and can physically take on the demands of the part – not just the fighting, but the sheer length of the role. It’s
the longest role in Shakespeare. And it needs someone who can give you something of those prismatic colours that the role
contains.
Hamlet is both fatalistic and aspirational. He is both forlorn and melancholy and very witty and there are parts
of the role that David will play with great ease. His skills with language are exceptional. It might be that there are areas
of his melancholy and his reflection that David may have to tackle. David has great intelligence to tackle this role. It feels
that there is no such thing as a definitive Hamlet - there are only an infinitive number of Hamlets.
What I think he will
get is the excitement of the role, the drive – Hamlet’s experience of grief, his experience of what it is to grow
up. All those things I think he will approach with a freshness, a kind of ‘new.’
Having worked with David before,
I don’t think he will be haunted by the line of Hamlets that came before him. Of all the parts, since it was first performed
in the 1600s, it’s been going on somewhere in the world ever since. There’s been an unbroken line from Richard
Burbage right through to David Tennant.
Even through the closure of the theatres in 1642, you can trace the line.
Richard
Burbage we know handed it on to Joseph Taylor (his apprentice and understudy). We know that William Davenant saw Taylor play
the role and taught it to Betterton when he took over the role and the restoration. And then right through to Garrick to Kean,
Irving, Gielgud, Olivier, Branagh etc. There is this unbroken line of people experiencing Hamlet and in this particular company
since 1879 after the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre was built, Hamlet has never been far from the repertoire. It isn’t
that long since Toby
Stephens played Hamlet in Michael Boyd’s production, nor indeed that Sam West did it. I think
it’s a glory. When we closed the RST last year we had a special performance to mark the very last moment in the theatre.
During the event – Toby Stephens spoke the first line of the ‘To be, or Not to be’ soliloquy and then Sam
West stood up, then Mark Rylance, Alex Jennings, Michael Pennington and right back to David Warner, who is currently in the
company. David played it for Peter Hall back in 1965. So you had a long wonderful handing on of this role. I think that actors
hand on some of the experiences and practical advice of performing the role. For example, the first few lines of the play,
the first drive of the play through the ghost scenes, you
are carried by the momentum of the play. Then there is the long
stretch of the play within the play to the closet scene which you drive. Then you get a little breather, then you have to
do the duel right at the end. So actors tell each other how to pace themselves. But I think that David won’t be working
out what Alex Jennings or Sam West did, or indeed what David Garrick did, as there is plenty of reference for all of this.
Funnily
enough, I am usually a great historical ferreter of theatrical tradition.
On this one I haven’t. Because if the play
is self-defining for the actor playing Hamlet, it is also, I feel, defining for the director too. I’m aware with the
simple act of cutting the play that you are already shaping your own likes and dislikes and prejudices. My own personal sense
of the play is structured by David and the audience that may be attracted to this production and also by the other actors
that we’ve got. If we’ve got Patrick Stewart playing Claudio, Penny Downie playing Gertrude and the wonderful
Oliver Ford Davies playing
Polonius and Mariah Gale playing Ophelia it makes you look at those
particular parts in a
particular way with a kind of respect that they are about to be tackled by those brilliant actors. I remember John Barton
saying to me once, cast actors like that in those leads and they will sort that out. It’s more important that you sort
out those other parts. How Rosencrantz is distinguishable from Guildenstern, and what exactly Osric doing in the part and
how you’ll get the humour from the grave-diggers.
How did you come to cast David Tennant?
I was reading the ‘bad quarto’ which
includes lines like ‘To be or not to be, Aye, there’s the point’ which could maybe be replaced with the
folio line ‘To be or not to be, that is the question.’ I thought you could discover a two hour Hamlet which could
really exciting. And just as I was playing around with the idea I was watching TV, and David Tennant was on ‘Who
do you think you Are’ on BBC1. He happened to go to a church in Northern Ireland, where they had been doing some work,
and excavating the church floor. And there amongst the planks on the floor was a skull. And David, dressed in this great coat,
picked it up and I thought – that’s like an audition for Hamlet. In fact, I texted him that night and said ‘I
saw your audition for Hamlet ’ and later we chatted. I asked if he had ever thought about playing Hamlet. He said that
the two roles he really wanted to do were Hamlet and Berowne in Love’s Labours Lost. I had already decided that I would
be directing Love’s Labours Lost as it had been fifteen years since we’d done it and thought it was an extraordinary
coincidence The part waits for the actor to be ready and readiness is all. It all came together in a perfect flash of coincidence
and synergy. There was a long time where we had to keep it under our hats whilst the BBC sorted out his temporary vacation
of the Tardis.
Can you tell us something about the costumes for the three plays?
It’s early days, and I may change my mind, but essentially I can’t see David Tennant
in tights. He’s not quite a doublet and hose man. Dream, in terms of costumes, will be pretty much as they were before. For Love’s Labour’s
Lost we’re pitching it in its period. It will be delightful to get the RSC’s fabulous costume
department to do their very best – producing a few roughs and doublets and farthingales. We don’t do it too often,
so it’s nice when we do.
28/04/2008, 17:32pm BST
Doctor Who Triumphs At BAFTA Cymru
Doctor Who triumphed at the BAFTA Cymru Awards
for the third year running, winning in six categories.
The ceremony, held for films and television programmes produced in
Wales, was held in Cardiff's Millennium Centre.
Doctor Who won the awards for: Best Drama Series (Phil Collinson,
for Voyage of the Damned), Best Screenwriter (Steven Moffat, for Blink), Best Sound (BBC Wales Sound team), Best Director,
Drama (James Strong for Voyage of the Damned), Best Director of Photography (Ernie Vincze for Voyage of the Damned) and Best
Make-Up (Barbara Southcott and Neill Gorton at Millennium FX for The Shakespeare Code).
27/04/2008, 14:30pm BST
Send In The Clones
Screen caps from last night's new episode of Doctor Who Confidential,
Send In The Clones, are now online here. The episode is available to view on BBC iplayer here.
The Sontaran Stratagem Overnight Viewing Figures
Unofficial overnight viewing figures suggest that The Sontaran Stratagem
was watched by 6.4m viewers. It was the second most watched show of the day.
- Visit The Sontaran Stratagem section here.
26/04/2008, 20:50pm BST
The Sontaran Stratagem Update
Yet another brilliant episode of Doctor Who, and wasn't it
great to have Donna AND Martha on board, let us know what you thought of The Sontaran Stratagem on the forum.
Screen caps from the episode are online now and can be viewed here.
The episode can be viewed on BBCi Player here.
26/04/2008, 14:10pm BST
The Sontaran Stratagem Tonight At 18:20pm
On BBC One
Martha Jones summons the Doctor back to modern-day Earth, but an old enemy lies in wait, as Russell T Davies's
Bafta Award-winning time-travelling drama continues. With the mysterious ATMOS devices spreading across the world, Donna discovers
that even her own family is not safe from the alien threat – but is it too late to save them?
The Sontar
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