Cate Blanchett Asks London Audience To Stop Filming Play, Says Stage Is Place “Where We Can Simply Be Together And Be Present”

That was the message delivered by Cate Blachett from the London stage of National Theatre’s Lyttelton Theatre after the curtain call of Electra/Persona, the new play written and directed by Benedict Andrews that combines the Sophocles tragedy Electra with Ingmar Bergman’s Persona.

Still in her stage costume of a black t-shirt and baggy black trousers, Blanchett, who stars opposite Nina Hoss in the play, spoke in a heartfelt and calm manner directly to the audience in an address that has been widely shared on social media. (Watch it below.)

Said Blanchett, “There are few places on this planet where we can simply be together and be present. I understand you like filming the curtain call – and it is kind of flattering in a way – but for anyone who is filming the show, please don’t, because it spoils it for the next group of people who come in and are present with us. So thank you very much.”

The speech was greeted enthusiastically by the National Theatre audience.

The play, which runs through October 10, has Blanchett and Hoss sharing the roles of Electra/Elisabeth and Clytemnestra/Alma, with a coin toss determining who plays what role on any given night.

Here’s how the National Theatre describes the production as “a thrilling production [that] fuses ancient myth and modern psychology in a powerful exploration of identity, and the fragile line between who we are and who we play.”

The synopsis continues, “Electra. A daughter consumed by grief and rage, clinging to the idea of justice as her world comes apart. Persona. During a performance of Electra, an actress suddenly falls silent. What follows is a rupture: two women drawn into an intense, unsettling encounter where speech breaks down and the boundaries between self and role give way.”

In addition to Blanchett and Hoss, the cast features Ella Lily Hyland.