Viewers were blown away by Andrew Scott's "captivating, truthful and heartbreaking" Hamlet performance
Some have argued that he's a better Hamlet than his Sherlock co-star Benedict Cumberbatch
The BBC aired Robert Icke's theatre production of Hamlet on Saturday night, and viewers were blown away by the performance of lead man Andrew Scott.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DIoXSAmWnxg
The former Sherlock star plays the role of Hamlet, the titular, scheming prince who has designs upon the throne, which is occupied by his uncle-turned-stepfather Claudius. He had won plaudits throughout the production's West End run, and BBC2 viewers were equally impressed, taking to Twitter to share their awe at his performance.
"Andrew Scott has delivered the most captivating, truthful and heartbreaking performance as #Hamlet," user @bella-allchorne wrote, "It's so rare for an actor to be able to do a speech that they know inside out, but make the audience believe that they are thinking and saying the words for the first time."
Watch a clip of Scott performing the "to be or not to be" soliloquy below.
https://twitter.com/BBCTwo/status/978934807479635968
And check out some of the praise for his performance:
https://twitter.com/bella_allchorne/status/980211253934206976
https://twitter.com/kevdrwg/status/980183157529104384
https://twitter.com/sullieship/status/980184025682907137
https://twitter.com/andrwscttonline/status/980177320492392448
https://twitter.com/livblackbourn/status/980182582456410113
https://twitter.com/MrsStephenFry/status/980185870102859785
https://twitter.com/ShakespeareNerd/status/980182971650101252
https://twitter.com/MistressWu/status/980180973886128128
https://twitter.com/kellyloumugg/status/980215642707169286
Many viewers also called upon the BBC to broadcast more theatre.
https://twitter.com/gregwrightYP/status/980201546205073408
https://twitter.com/Elvarang/status/980195392284516358
They'll be happy to know that a feature film adaptation of Shakespeare's King Lear is coming to the Beeb later this year. Anthony Hopkins leads a star-studded cast which also features Emma Thompson, Florence Pugh, Jim Broadbent and Andrew Scott, who seems to be developing quite a taste for the legendary bard's work.