‘A privilege – and pretty terrifying’: James Norton to play Hamlet in the West End

James Norton is to take on his first major Shakespearean stage role and play Hamlet in the West End next year. The King & Conqueror star said it was a “privilege” and “pretty terrifying” to be cast as the tragic prince in the acclaimed German director Thomas Ostermeier’s production next autumn. Norton was last on stage in 2023 in the harrowing A Little Life, based on Hanya Yanagihara’s novel, which the actor described as the hardest thing he has ever done. ‘I could not be in better hands’ … James Norton. Photograph: Poster art by Feast, artwork photography by Bex Day Ostermeier first staged his acclaimed version of Hamlet in 2008 and it visited London in 2011, with the title role played by Lars Eidinger who prowled among the audience and even snatched a critic’s notepad. The director, who has been based at the Schaubühne in Berlin since 1999, said: “I am pleased to be revisiting Hamlet for the West End … It will be my first time directing Shakespeare in English, and I am excited to explore the original text in order to bring this new production to life. My first Hamlet has been touring the world for 18 years so I am honoured to have the opportunity to bring it here to London with James, who in my mind is a perfect Prince of Denmark.” As a student at Cambridge University in 2006, Norton played Don Pedro in Much Ado About Nothing, staged by Robert Icke. …