BENEDICT CUMBERBATCH received an enthusiastic reception from a celebrity-packed audience on the official opening night of Hamlet in London.

    His “Sherlock” co-star Mark Gatiss described Cumberbatch as “magnificent.”

    “I always knew he had it in him,” he told the BBC. “We’re all very proud and impressed.”

    Cumberbatch’s mother, actress Wanda Ventham, described him as “a bloody good Hamlet.”

    Other famous names in the audience at the Barbican on Tuesday night included “Sherlock” actor Martin Freeman and actress Louise Brealey, “Downton” actor Dan Stevens and “Kinks” star Ray Davies.

    The modern dress production, directed by Lyndsey Turner, has been described as the fastest-selling play in British history.

    Also in the cast are Ciaran Hinds as Claudius, Anastasia Hille as Gertrude, Leo Bill as Horatio and Sian Brooke as Ophelia.

    The play already made headlines after preview performances featured the famous “to be or not to be” soliloquy shifted to the start of the play. It now appears in the second act; its usual place is in the third.

    Critics have given the play a mixed reception. Awarding four stars, The Telegraph’s Dominic Cavendish said Cumberbatch’s Hamlet justified the hysteria.

    Whatsonstage.com also gave four stars, with Michael Coveney saying Cumberbatch delivered the great soliloquies “superbly, urgently, intelligently and full of concentration, right to the top of the Barbican.”

    Cumberbatch was last seen on stage in 2011, in the National Theater’s production of “Frankenstein,” directed by Danny Boyle. He won an Olivier Award for his performance.

    He earned an Oscar nomination this year for his performance as Alan Turing in “The Imitation Game.”(SD-Agencies)