ladyt220:

ms-kensington:

Here’s a closeup:

Sorry about the poor pictures quality, but to be honest I was more interested in giving a standing ovation than taking a photo!

I was absolutely blown away by this production, and the performances of all the cast, but of course especially of Benedict Cumberbatch. He’s a tour de force, and when he’s performing you can’t look away. I’m so impressed at the calibre and commitment to this performance, given it was ‘only’ a staged reading. You could really tell not only how much talent he has, but how seriously he takes each role, and the amount of preparation put into it. Many times, he was practically off-book, and there were very, very few stumbles even when reading. He was funny, powerful, and charismatic, and even though his character said vile things, you empathized and wanted his happiness.

It was probably one of the best performances I’ve ever seen, anywhere (and since a lot of my friends are professionally involved in the theatre here [Young Vic, National…] I see a lot!)

Rebecca Hall was incredibly impressive as well. She was totally believable as Allison, and her transition from the beginning to the end of the play was fascinating. She conveyed great emotion in her performance as well, in a more understated way (not that BC was overblown; his performance was incredibly layered and variable. Pitch-perfect at every line).

All in all it was exhilarating!

(Oh, and he looked really good… details, hehe. I was very happy with my view in the centre of the 5th row - sitting next to Cumberbuddy who took the seat from my friend who couldn’t make it :)

My friend and I skipped the post-show insanity and went to Starbucks next door, but just when we came back out, he did as well. It was a mob scene, but when we looked over he seemed to be pretty awesome about it, smiling and signing everything he could. We pretty much took one look at that though, and went the other directions!

I did snap one quick shot though:

Oof.

And here’s the program. Good job, Amy Ball!

OF COURSE HE’S NOT THE BOY’S FATHER, LOOK AT THE TURN-UPS ON HIS JEANS!

Thanks to everyone sharing pics and recounts of the day. Much appreciated, guys!

(Source: francesca-wayland)