Sherlock's Benedict Cumberbatch to Star as Hamlet in London

Stage and screen star Benedict Cumberbatch will return to the West End in 2015 as the lead in Shakespeare's Hamlet, according to multiple reports. Lyndsey Turner, who recently helmed Broadway's Machinal, will direct the play at London's Barbican Theatre. The production is set to run from August to October.

Benedict Cumberbatch is best known for playing the title role in the BBC's Sherlock, with other film and television credits including Star Trek Into Darkness, 12 Years a Slave, and August: Osage County. He was last onstage in the National Theatre's Danny Boyle-directed production of Frankenstein with Jonny Lee Miller in 2011.

"I'm thrilled to be producing Hamlet with Lyndsey and Benedict, and we are all delighted that the magnificent Barbican has agreed to present the show," said producer Sonia Friedman. "It is a real privilege to be working with one of the most gifted and exciting actors of his generation, Benedict Cumberbatch, in the title role."

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