When Benedict Cumberbatch isn’t playing “slightly asexual, sociopathic intellectuals” (his words) or Shakespearean juggernauts, he’s delivering impassioned speeches on Syrian refugee aid. The British actor is currently starring in a production of Hamlet at London’s Barbican theatre and has made such a plea after each performance so far.
The Telegraph reports while audiences had gotten used to these post-performance speeches, several were shocked on Tuesday when he told them to "f--- the politicians,” adding that it was an "utter disgrace of the British Government" for not doing enough to help out.
"It was all very impassioned,” one witness told the Daily Mail. “He began by reading out a poem called Home by [Somali poet] Warsan Shire. He then spoke about a friend who had come back from the Greek island of Lesbos a few months ago, where there were 5,000 people arriving a day, and how the [British] government was allowing just 20,000 refugees into the country over the next five years.”
Another said: “It’s not quite what you’d expect when you go for an evening with the Bard, but it got a few cheers." Those cheers have also spilled onto Twitter.
Really proud of #BenedictCumberbatch for his emotional appeal after Hamlet tonight over #refugeescrisis and 'shameful' govt response
IYMI over £155,000 raised so far @savechildrenuk refugee appeal see #Benedict's speech he makes after every show https://t.co/jEx0ood9v8
