Understudies in the limelight: Why going from standby to star isn't always a fairytale

Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter for all the latest entertainment news and reviews Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter Sign up to our free IndyArts newsletter SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. “I don't remember it at all, apart from going on with a champagne glass and being pleasantly surprised that my hand wasn't shaking too much and then at the end, the curtain call which I sobbed through.” He invited all of his friends to come and see his big moment, thinking it would be a one-off and that Tennant would surely return in time for press night the next evening. “There were some boos… I listened to that once and then knew that I was never, ever going to listen to that again.” “You can hear the light, distinctive slap of seats being left as people decide they don't want to watch Hamlet without David Tennant in it,” says Bennett. “I didn't see them until the next morning – luckily,” she says. That was a weird one but I can't let that get into my head.” “The hardest thing was walking in to meet the other actors who had been rehearsing for three or four weeks, and say 'Hi, I'm your new mum, I'm your new boss.'