THE Waterfront Hall in Belfast was a suitably impressive location for the charity premiere of Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet on Wednesday, and guests were committed enough to remain seated in front of the 70 mm screen for the movie's four hour duration. The premiere was attended by stars of the film including Julie Christie, Rufus Sewell and Ian McIlhinney, but Mr Branagh couldn't make it because he was in Savannah, Georgia, filming a new John Grisham script, The Gingerbread Man, under the direction of Robert Altrnan. The Belfast born actor did, however, visit the Waterfront Hall prior to the premiere, and got to see the city's bright new civic building in all its glory.
Branagh's films have traditionally had their charity premieres in his home town, and this was the first time he was unable to be there so he appointed Ian McIlhinney as his surrogate. McIlhinney was recently seen (being blown up) in Neil Jordan's Michael Collins; in Hamlet he plays the guard Barnardo, whose cohort Marcellus is played by Jack Lemmon.
Meanwhile, Branagh has just finished work on another film which mentions the bard in the title. Called Shakespeares Sister, he plays a priest alongside William Hurt and Madeleine Stowe. To be or not to be? Ask my sister.