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Dominic Cavendish looks forward to a starry Shakespeare in Covent Garden

Not since Nicole Kidman disrobed in David Hare's The Blue Room almost a decade ago has there been such a commotion in Covent Garden.


Ewan McGregor (left), Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kelly Reilly star in Othello
Tickets for the Donmar's new production of Othello flew out of the box office the moment bookings opened and have since been reportedly changing hands online for up to £1,200.

The principal reason for that stampede is Ewan McGregor (above left), playing Iago to Chiwetel Ejiofor's (above centre) Moor.

All eyes will be on the screen star to see whether, with relatively little stage experience, he can handle a Shakespearean lead. Ejiofor and Kelly Reilly (above right), as Desdemona, are also near-newcomers to the classical canon, but it's still hard to see how, with the inventive Michael Grandage at the helm, things could go anything other than very very right.

The good news for people with legs of steel is that 10 day-tickets (max a pair per person) will be released every morning at 10.30 with up to 20 standing spaces also available. Regard it as a dress-rehearsal for the January sales.

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