Everybody stop: Tom Hiddleston is going to star as Hamlet in a new production of the play

It has just been announced that Tom Hiddleston will take on the role of Hamlet, with Kenneth Branagh directing the production, to raise money for RADA.

RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), the London drama school, is teaming up with Kenneth Branagh’s theatre company for the production of Hamlet to raise money for the school, including student accommodation.

RADA’s website states: “The production is in aid of the RADA Attenborough Campaign to support the transformation of RADA’s Chenies Street site in London, further developing the Academy as a world-leader in dramatic arts training.”

The play will run for three weeks only, from the 1^st to the 23^rd of September, at the school’s Jerwood Vanbrugh Theatre, which holds only 160 seats.

Tickets are available via a ballot system, which is open as of today and will remain open until this Sunday, the 6^th of August.

Submitted ballots are selected randomly and chosen applicants will be notified by the 8^th of August. They will then have 48 hours to book their tickets, with 21 total performances to choose from throughout the three weeks of production.

There will be £15 tickets available for individuals under 25. The remaining tickets will be either £45 or £95.

Hiddleston, who graduated from RADA in 2005, spoke to The Stage about the upcoming production and expressed his excitement about exploring the “almost unlimited possibilities for interpretation” of the role.

He continued: “Kenneth Branagh and I have long talked about working on the play together, and now felt like the right time, at the right place.

“The performing arts exist to bring people together, not to break or keep them apart. I hope the funds raised by the production will help RADA continue to provide a wider field of equal opportunity to train actors, stage managers and technical theatre artists, from every background, to a standard of excellence and professionalism. We need to keep the doors open for everyone.”

Branagh also attended RADA and took on the role of Hamlet himself while studying there in 1981.

Branagh told the Stage: “I’m not someone who gets particularly nostalgic, but there is definitely a moment in your life where you look back with a different clarity. This is one such moment, and doing Hamlet here feels like coming full circle. RADA gave me confidence, support and creative freedom.”

The rest of the cast and the creative team will be made up of members from the Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company and RADA.

To enter the ballot, visit RADA’s website.