Andrew Scott to play Hamlet in London production next year

Though the actor's run at the Almeida nearly clashed with his Sherlock co-star's own performance in the role

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Wherever Sherlock goes, Moriarty is always one step behind. Which seems to be the case for co-stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Andrew Scott, too.

Scott will take on the iconic role of Hamlet, the career peak for so many stage actors, for a London production at the Almeida Theatre in February 2017. Cumberbatch took the role on during a run at the Barbican theatre last year; though the actor received mixed reviews for his performance, the entire run out sold out mere minutes after tickets becoming available.

Rupert Goold, the Islington theatre's artistic director, told The Evening Standard that their version of Hamlet nearly clashed with Cumberbatch's run; "At one point we were thinking of going head to head. In the end we decided to put some space between them. It felt like when Benedict was on it was the biggest ship in the fleet."

"I think Benedict had a kind of princeliness to his Hamlet. He manifests a beautiful intelligence that is all his own, but Andrew is a very different energy and the production will reflect that. Andrew has something a little more playful."

The production will see Scott directed in the Shakespearean tragedy by Olivier Award nominee Robert Icke, who previously staged widely-praised productions of Oresteia and Uncle Vanya. Juliet Stevenson will also star as Hamlet's mother, Gertrude.

Such a high-profile performance follows in the wake of Almeida's announced production of Richard III with Ralph Fiennes and Vanessa Redgrave, which runs 7 June to 6 August.

Also on the Almeida's slate is writer Adam Brace's newest, They Drink it in the Congo; running from 12 August to 1 October, the work hopes to shed light on the war-torn African country. The theatre will also feature debut work Oil from playwright Ella Hickson and director Carrie Cracknell.