DAVID TENNANT - DAVID TENNANT OUT OF HAMLET 'UNTIL CHRISTMAS'

DAVID TENNANT OUT OF HAMLET 'UNTIL CHRISTMAS'

Back surgery means David Tennant will not be returning to play Hamlet "before Christmas", the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has confirmed.

An "ongoing back injury" forced Tennant to withdraw from two performances this week and he is scheduled to have an operation on a slipped disc on Thursday.

Edward Bennett - who plays Laertes in the production - received a standing ovation after filling in as Hamlet on Monday and Tuesday and will continue as Tennant's stand-in.

"My back problem has progressed to the point where it is currently impossible for me to carry on without surgery," Tennant said in a statement.

"I want to get back onstage as quickly as possible and I am very grateful to Ed who has courageously got to grips with the role but in a much shorter time. It's a fantastic achievement."

The RSC's artistic director Michael Boyd added: "We all wish David a speedy recovery and it is an indication of the RSC's investment in understudies that Ed Bennett can take over Shakespeare's largest role at such short notice."

An RSC statement said refunds would not be issued "because the company has a fully rehearsed understudy policy".

"The company is able to offer exchanges, subject to availability, for other RSC London performances during this season at the Novello Theatre," it added.

Tickets to see Tennant as the Shakespearean character sold out in less than three hours when they went on sale in September.

The production, which features Sir Patrick Stewart in the roles of Claudius and the Ghost, recently transferred from the Courtyard Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon.