There is bad news for those who couldn't get to Stratford to see Samuel West's Hamlet and were looking forward to its arrival at the Barbican next month.

In the latest flare-up of the long-running dispute over Adrian Noble's planned changes to the way the RSC is run and housed, backstage staff are threatening to strike at the Barbican, wrecking the company's Christmas season.

If the strike goes ahead it will be a body blow to the RSC's finances at a crucial time, as well as a huge disappointment to London theatregoers.

A particularly sad casualty, should the strike go ahead, will be Samuel West's performance as Hamlet, an intelligent and powerful interpretation that London audiences would love to see, not least to compare with Simon Russell Beale's remarkable performance at the National Theatre.

A final decision on strike action is expected in early December.

—by Paul Webb Theatrenow