Him off the telly: Seeing famous actors on stage

Performing arts columnist Eugene Smith (Image: Supplied)

That said, the lady near me who loudly exclaimed “hasn’t he aged” as the curtain rose obviously didn’t have the strongest grasp of time. Or manners.

But not everyone is a fan of “name” casting. In 2008, Jonathan Miller complained about “that man from Doctor Who” being cast as Hamlet by the Royal Shakespeare Company.

Miller, who rose to prominence in the ghastly Beyond the Fringe, was sulking because West End theatres wouldn’t stage his version of Hamlet, and claimed that they valued celebrity over quality.

Miller’s truculent comments ignored the fact that Tennant had been playing the role to great acclaim in Stratford, was an experienced stage actor, and happened to be a very good Hamlet.

Some people assume that TV and film actors have never done stage work, which is absurd since almost all of them have theatrical backgrounds (apart from the ones only cast because they were at Cambridge with the producer).

Miller (who died in 2019) must have known this, having directed Whistle and I’ll Come to You for the BBC in 1968, which remains grossly overrated, not helped by M.R. James’ dull source material having the same plot as all his other short stories.

Furthermore, Tennant’s presence, along with Patrick Stewart (or “that bald man from Star Trek” as Miller would doubtless have referred to him) definitely attracted people who weren’t regular theatregoers, had never seen Shakespeare, or both.

Some of them might not have returned, but others will have been inspired to seek out other plays. How is that a bad thing? Miller's most famous stage production was The Mikado, regularly revived by English National Opera. I saw it a few years ago, and can’t imagine it engendering a love of theatre in any newcomers.

Name casting isn’t the same as stunt casting. It’s good casting. Plus, you get to see proper actors. From off the telly.