In an impromptu speech outside the stage door of London's Barbican theatre, the actor told fans that spotting cameras in the audience had been "mortifying".

He told the crowd a red light in the third row was "very, very obvious" when he was forced to restart Saturday night's performance. The play, which opens with the famous 'to be, or not to be' soliloquy, was briefly halted following technical problems.

"We started again tonight with 'to be or not to be,' which is not the easiest way to begin a play full stop, but for the second time even harder," he said.

There is "nothing less supportive or enjoyable" than seeing a "big red light" in the auditorium, he added.

"I can't give you what I want to give you, which is a live performance that you will remember and hopefully in your minds and brains, whether it's good, bad or indifferent, rather than on your phones. So please don't."

The actor went on to warn that new measures were being introduced to detect and remove members of the audience using cameras.

"I don't want that to happen. That's a horrible way to have to police what is a wonderful thing," he said.

After what he described as "one hell of a week," he appealed to the crowd to spread his message via social media.

"So this isn't me blaming you, this is me asking you to ripple it out there in the brilliant, beautiful way that you do with your funny electronic things," he said.

The highly-anticipated, sold-out production of the Shakespearean tragedy opened on Wednesday to mixed reviews.

The actor's public appeal came a day after the first official photos of him playing Hamlet were released.

The images show him donning a variety of costumes which have earned him the nickname "Hamlet in a hoodie".

Cumberbatch sports some modern attire, including jeans and a sweater, during his performance as the prince of Denmark.
The play, which runs until 31 October, also features Ciaran Hinds as Claudius and Sian Brooke as Ophelia.