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Elsinore, one of the most anticipated dramas of the year, has been announced as this year’s opening night film. London Film Festival. The play, which stars Andrew Scott as actor Ian Charleson, will have its first European premiere at the Southbank Center – yards from the National Theatre, where many of his shows are staged.
Directed by Simon Stone and written by Stephen Beresford (who reunited with Scott 12 years after Pride), the film depicts the last months in the life of the legendary actor, who resumed the role of Hamlet while suffering from a terminal illness, aged 40.
After being diagnosed with Aids in 1986, the actor – who gained international recognition for his roles in Chariots of Fire and Gandhi – was recruited by Richard Eyre to take over the role of Hamlet in the 1989 play after Daniel Day-Lewis’s sudden withdrawal, after seeing the spirit of his father on stage.
Charleson, who had worked hard for high-profile roles before and after the film’s success, persuaded Eyre to let him reprise the role he had played 15 years earlier, despite the director’s health concerns. Both the cast and crew, as well as the audience, were told that Charleson’s face was swollen following sinus surgery; he was actually suffering from septicemia.
Charleson’s performance, which ran for six weeks until the middle of November, is said to be one of the best ever seen on the stage. The day after his last show, Ian McKellen turned down the Evening Standard’s best actor award and instead presented his portrait to Charleson.
Charleson died eight weeks later and was the first UK broadcaster to call for Aids to be declared the cause of death, raising awareness of the disease.
The film also stars Olivia Colman as Charleson’s doctor, along with Billie Piper, Johnny Flynn and Monica Dolan. Dickie Beau, who toured one character in Charleson’s Hamlet for six years, also stars, while David Dawson plays Derek Jarman. Juliet Stevenson and Peter Mullan are believed to play Charleson’s parents.
Elsinore was also selected as a showcase for the Toronto film festival, with a national premiere a week before the Telluride film festival was announced.
Kristy Matheson, director of London’s BFI film festivals, said: “Inspired by Andrew Scott’s extraordinary performance, few films will capture the attention of audiences this year like Elsinore.” The role of the actor in the film has already attracted many awards, and many people who are waiting to vote will be eager to give the award to the famous actor whose role in the film. We are all strangers was overlooked in the Oscar and Bafta nominations.
Elsinore will open in the US on 20 November and in the UK on 29 January. The London Film Festival runs from 7-18 October.
