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He is one of Britain's most successful actors and his matinee idol looks have earned him Hollywood roles ranging from incorrigible womanisers to charming villains. Now Jude Law is to take on one of theatre's most challenging parts, the central character in Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Stepping into the shoes of such thespian greats as Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud , Law will tackle the role of the tormented young prince in a new West End production by Kenneth Branagh, who has himself played Hamlet on stage and screen.
The play forms part of a season in which the Donmar Warehouse, the small theatre company known for bringing edgy productions to Covent Garden, will stage four plays at London's Wyndham's Theatre from September next year. Michael Grandage, who took over as the Donmar's artistic director from Sam Mendes five years ago, said Law was fulfilling a long-standing ambition to play Hamlet and would deliver an energetic performance free from theatrical pretension.
"Jude is a muscular, visceral actor who has a direct connection with raw emotions," he added.
"He will bring something so open and raw to the role."
Law's decision to play Hamlet was apparently prompted by his close collaboration with Branagh in the screen remake of the 1972 psychological thriller, Sleuth, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival two weeks ago. "Ken and Jude have got completely fired up, talking about it together," Grandage explained.
Branagh is famed for a wide Shakespearean repertoire which has seen him act in stage adaptations of Hamlet, as well as direct and star in the 1996 film version with Derek Jacobi and Julie Christie.
Law's collaboration with the Donmar is a little more surprising, given his close links to the Young Vic, where he sits on the theatre committee and helped to launch its public fundraising campaign in 2004.
Despite his impeccable stage credentials, however, Law's army of worldwide fans know him best for his Hollywood roles n from his acclaimed performance in The Talented Mr Ripley in 1999 to his much-panned reworking of Alfie three years ago.
Grandage said he hoped the new season at the Wyndham's would offer affordable "Donmar prices" at a major West End venue.
Other productions include Chekhov's Ivanov, starring Branagh and with a new script by Tom Stoppard, as well as Madame de Sade, a new play by the Japanese writer, Yukio Mishima, which focuses on the women closest to the Marquis de Sade.
Grandage will also be staging Shakespeare's Twelfth Night, with Jacobi in the role of the curmudgeonly Malvolio. The Wyndham's programme will run alongside productions at the Donmar, in the hope larger audiences can get a flavour of the "Donmar brand".
- THE INDEPENDENT
