Hamlet with Benedict Cumberbatch - Barbican Aug 2015

It is confirmed that Benedict Cumberbatch will play William Shakespeare's Hamlet at the Barbican Theatre from 5 Aug 2015 to 31 Oct 2015. Exact dates to be confirmed when booking opens to the public sometime in May 2014.

It is directed by Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions .

As a country arms itself for war, a family tears itself apart. Forced to revenge his father's death but paralysed by the task ahead, Hamlet rages against the impossibility of his predicament, threatening both his sanity and the security of the state.

Benedict Cumberbatch's many London theatre credits include Danny Boyle's Frankenstein at the Olivier, NT in 2011; After the Dance at the Lyttelton, NT; The City at the Royal Court in 2008; The Arsonists and Rhinoceros at the Royal Court in 2007; Period of Adjustment at the Almeida in 2006; Hedda Gabler at the Almeida and Duke of York's in 2005; The Lady From the Sea at the Almeida in 2003; Oh What a Lovely War and As You Like It at the Open Air Regent's Park in 2002; A Midsummer Night's Dream and Love's Labour's Lost at the Open Air Regent's Park in 2001.

His TV credits include his portrayal of Stephen Hawking in the BBC drama, Hawking in 2004; TV adaptation of Small Island in 2009. However it is his portrayal of Sherlock Holmes in the BBC series Sherlock that he is best known. His film credits include Star Trek Into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, and film version of War Horse.