Sir Kenneth Branagh returns to the RSC for first time in 30 years

Sir Kenneth last appeared at the RSC more than three decades ago, in 1994, as Hamlet.

But he told me his first interaction with the Stratford-upon-Avon theatres was as an audience member in 1978 when he was 17.

He said he “hitchhiked to get there, and had a tent, a dream, and three cans of Heinz sausages and beans”.

The first play he saw was The Tempest, with Prospero played by Michael Hordern.

He said he watched it “for 90p from the back of the Gods”.

“I was enthused and excited by the whole experience and I feel the same way nearly 50 years later as I return, only this time I don’t think I’ll hitchhike, and I may avoid the sausages and beans,” he added.