Stage hit ‘The Motive and the Cue’ depicts a Hollywood golden couple. Now moviegoers can see it too

By JILL LAWLESS
Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — The world has always loved a golden couple, especially when there are hints of trouble in paradise. Decades before millions tracked every move of Harry and Meghan, William and Kate or Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce, it was the turbulent union of actors Richard Burton and Elizabeth Taylor that set gossip columns aflame. They are the subjects of “The Motive and the Cue,” a play that is being broadcast in cinemas in Britain and internationally starting Thursday as part of the National Theatre Live series. The play looks at a famous 1964 production of “Hamlet” that starred Burton and was directed by John Gielgud. Mark Gatiss plays Gielgud in the witty and moving look at fame’s fickleness and cost.