Tennant's 'Hamlet' debuts in Stratford

LONDON, July 25 (UPI) -- Scottish actor David Tennant, best known as TV's latest Doctor Who, played Hamlet to a sold-out house in England's Stratford-upon-Avon.

The Telegraph said "Doctor Who" fans began lining up at dawn to try to snag returned tickets to the opening night of the Royal Shakespeare Company's production of William Shakespeare's tragic stage drama "Hamlet."

"I probably would have come anyway but his presence gave me a spur," Amy Jones, an 18-year-old Tennant fan, told the newspaper. "He is such a good actor. He is dark and he has the madness in him as well."

The play's three-month run at the Courtyard Theatre, which co-stars "Star Trek" and "X-Men" veteran Patrick Stewart, reportedly is sold out. The production is to transfer to London after its run in Stratford.

"We like our Shakespeare to be star-studded," fan Annie Walker-Smith told The Telegraph.

Tennant has previously starred in RSC productions of "As You Like It" and "The Comedy of Errors."

The Royal Shakespeare Company said only programs and other "Hamlet"-related items will be autographed at the stage door, meaning fans who hoped to get their "Star Trek" or "Doctor Who" memorabilia signed will be out of luck, The Telegraph said.