From today's Times:
A small group of lottery winners — some from as far away as America and Canada — gathered on a quiet back street in central London yesterday.
They had all been through a ballot for the chance to buy the most sought-after theatre tickets in the capital — and were off to see Tom Hiddleston play Hamlet.
The demand was always going to be huge, so the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art (Rada) chose the smallest venue it could think of.
The Jerwood Vanburgh — Rada’s in-house theatre — in Bloomsbury seats just 160, and the run lasts a paltry three weeks. When Benedict Cumberbatch played the same role in London in 2015, about 250,000 saw him. Only a fraction of that number will have the privilege of watching the Kenneth Branagh production. Tickets to this one are strictly for the few, not the many.
It is galling for those who missed out, because the critics have described Hiddleston as “mesmerising” and combining “sweet sadness with incandescent fury”.
However, those who have been lucky are happy. Emily Friedman, 36, teaches English literature at Auburn University in Alabama. During a two-month research trip to the UK, she entered the ballot and won. “It’s a unique experience to see this Hamlet in such a small venue. It is so different to experience it this way,” she said.
As in every ballot, not everyone can be a winner. Social media have been full of complaints from the unfortunates who did not get the chance to buy a ticket.
One disgruntled fan wrote: “Am I ever gonna watch Hamlet?! I Missed Benedict Cumberbatch’s. And Andrew Scott’s. And now Tom Hiddleston. I hate my life.”
In which case they will not be pleased to hear that there were empty seats on the opening night.
“Just a handful,” said Karen O’Donnell, a research fellow at Durham University who lives in Salisbury. “I imagine it was people not able to get there. How awful for them.”
For Friedman, it was certainly not Branagh that was the attraction. “I remember lying on the floor in Houston watching one of his films,” she said. “I hope he’s learnt something about editing since then.” Most of us will never get to find out.