TICKETS to see Doctor Who star David Tennant perform in a West End production of Hamlet are changing hands for more than £500.
Fans desperate to see the show at the Novello Theatre in London in December are buying tickets on unofficial websites for more than 10 times face value, after the show sold out in two hours.
The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) issued 6,000 ticke
ts for 23 performances on Friday night and within minutes the hotline was jammed and the website had crashed.
Others camped outside the Novello Theatre to get tickets, the most expensive of which was £40. But once all the tickets were sold, they started appearing on unofficial websites for more than £1,000 for a pair.
One website, www.getmein.com owned by Ticketmaster, was offering a pair of tickets for opening night for £1,164 including a £174 processing fee. The cheapest ticket for the production was £302.50.
The RSC production of Hamlet, which stars Tennant in the leading role and also features Star Trek actor Patrick Stewart, has been a sell-out in Stratford-on-Avon, where it runs until November 15. The production will move to the West End theatre on December 3.
Tennant's celebrity status has drawn hordes of fans to the Stratford stage door every night. Director Gregory Doran said: "It's fantastic that there's so much excitement about this production, but he needs protecting from that level of intrusion."
While the RSC is pleased by the popularity of the show, it has expressed its anger about the illegal trade of extortionately priced tickets. A spokesman said: "We strongly advise that patrons do not purchase tickets in this way, but check with the Novello box office for returns or day seats.
"People who do purchase tickets in this way run the risk of being refused admission."
