Hamlet live on the big screen

This production of one of the English language's most accomplished and best-loved plays, and what is considered to be Shakespeare's greatest tragedy, was the fastest-selling production in London theatre history, enjoying a completely sold-out season at the Barbican.

Set in Denmark, Hamlet tells of a country arming itself for war, as a family tears itself apart. Forced to avenge 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.

Directed by Olivier Award-winning Lyndsey Turner and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions, the cast also includes Leo Bill (Horatio), Siân Brooke (Ophelia), Anastasia Hille (Gertrude), Ciarán Hinds (Claudius), Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Laertes) and Jim Norton (Polonius).

Truly thrilling

Of the screenings, Cumberbatch said: "It feels truly thrilling to be opening up our theatre production of Hamlet to the wider reach of a National Theatre Live audience. The idea that people who can't get to the theatre, for whatever reason, can join us for one night in cinemas around the country - and indeed the world - is extraordinary. Each screening will doubtless have its own atmosphere, but wherever you're watching, thanks to the brilliance of the National Theatre Live team, you'll be right at the heart of the action, in the best seat in the house."

Benedict Cumberbatch is an international multi-award winning theatre, television and film actor. His recent stage credits for the National Theatre include After the Dance and alternating the Creature and Dr Frankenstein in Danny Boyle's production of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein for which he won the Olivier, Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Best Actor awards. He is currently best known for playing the title role in the BBC's Sherlock and will be seen next year as Richard III in The Hollow Crown: The Wars of the Roses. His film work includes Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Star Trek into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, The Fifth Estate, August: Osage County and the role of Smaug in The Hobbit trilogy. Cumberbatch has been nominated for BAFTA, Golden Globe and Academy Awards for his role playing Alan Turing in The Imitation Game.

Lyndsey Turner's directing credits include Fathers and Sons and Philadelphia, Here I Come! for the Donmar Warehouse, Machinal for the Roundabout Theatre, Chimerica at the Almeida and in the West End, Posh for the Royal Court and in the West End, There Is A War and Edgar and Annabel for the National Theatre, Alice and The Way Of The World for Sheffield Theatres and Our Private Life, Contractions and A Miracle for the Royal Court. Turner was recently appointed as an Associate Director of the National Theatre, where she directed Light Shining in Buckinghamshire in April.

Sonia Friedman Productions, founded in 2002, is a West End and Broadway production company responsible for some of the most successful theatre productions in London and on Broadway over the past few years. Its recent West End and Broadway theatre productions and co-productions include: the UK premiere of The Book of Mormon, Jez Butterworth's The River on Broadway, starring Hugh Jackman, Sunny Afternoon, Shakespeare in Love, The Nether, Electra, King Charles III, Jerusalem, Ghosts, Mojo, Chimerica, Shakespeare's Twelfth Night and Richard III, and Old Times.

Set designs are by Es Devlin with costume designs by Katrina Lindsay, video by Luke Halls, lighting by Jane Cox, music by Jon Hopkins, sound by Christopher Shutt, movement by Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui and fights by Bret Yount.

Four million viewers

Since National Theatre Live's first season, which began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Helen Mirren, almost four million people have experienced the work of National Theatre Live in cinemas worldwide.

National Theatre Live enables audiences to experience the best of British theatre throughout the year, as the NT brings cameras into the auditorium to record and broadcast performances from stage to screen. Over four million people have experienced a National Theatre Live broadcast via satellite, both live and time delayed, in more than 2000 venues in over 40 different countries around the world, including South Africa.

National Theatre Live events are distributed outside the UK through New York-based BY Experience, the pioneer of global live 'alternative content' digital cinema events.

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