Benedict Cumberbatch's mother has described him as "a bloody good Hamlet" following his performance on the official press night.

The Sherlock star's parents, Timothy Carlton and Wanda Ventham, joined a host of celebrities, including his wife Sophie Hunter, in the audience.

Speaking after his performance at the Barbican theatre in London, Ms Ventham said they were "extraordinarily proud".

Commenting on the liveliness of his performance, she added: "He was quite lively growing up, but I thought that was phenomenal."

Downton Abbey stars Dan Stevens and Allen Leech were also among the celebrity guests. Sherlock writer Mark Gatiss, a close friend of Cumberbatch, said he was also "very proud".

Cumberbatch will be playing the lead role in the Shakespeare drama until the end of October, with the show becoming the fastest-selling play in British history.

He made his debut in the production earlier this month, and made headlines after pleading with fans not to film his performances, saying he found the experience "mortifying".

The show received mixed early reviews, with The Times giving it a mere two stars, branding it "Hamlet for kids raised on Moulin Rouge", while the Daily Mail hailed the performance with a five-star rating.

Gatiss said Cumberbatch delivered a flawless, energetic performance that embodied the light and dark moments of Shakespeare's tragedy.

While the first half belongs to the Sherlock star, the second half gives Sian Brooke (Ophelia) and Kobna Holdbrook-Smith (Laertes) their chance to shine.

Director Lyndsey Turner's version is contemporary and modern with the cast wearing trainers and Cumberbatch dressed-down in t-shirts.

Given the big-screen feel of some of the scenes it makes sense that from October 15 the play will be broadcast to cinemas around the world.

This is a play that may not appeal to hardcore fans of Shakespeare, who want to dissect every nuance and soliloquy.

But it will surely have the Cumberbatch fans flocking to try to get tickets. All in all, to be or not to be totally won over, that is the question...

Critics at last night's official opening were effusive about the Oscar-nominee's portrayal of Hamlet but many directed their critiques at the production itself.

The Guardian's Michael Billington called the production, directed by Lyndsey Turner, an "intellectual ragbag" and awarded only two stars.

"After all the hype and hysteria, the event itself comes as an anti-climax," he said.

Awarding four stars, Dominic Cavendish wrote in the Telegraph that Cumberbatch was "a blazing, five-star Hamlet trapped in a three-star show."

His performance also won international acclaim, with The New York Times' Ben Brantley calling the Imitation Game actor "superb".

Meanwhile, critics have hailed Benedict Cumberbatch's portrayal of Hamlet as "victorious" whilst branding the show an "anti-climax" .

Reviewers at the official opening of the Shakespeare adaptation last night were effusive about the Sherlock star, instead focusing their critiques on the production itself.

The play, which has become the fastest-selling in British history since the Oscar-nominated actor's participation was announced, has been unable to shake off early mixed criticism, after two newspapers ran reviews during the previews.

The Times was scathing, calling it "Hamlet for kids raised on Moulin Rouge", although the Daily Mail hailed the performance with a five-star rating.

Critics emerged from the show questioning the position of the "to be or not to be" soliloquy, which had initially been delivered in Act One during previews but was moved to Act Three, although Cumberbatch's delivery won praise across the board.

The Guardian's Michael Billington called the production, directed by Lyndsey Turner, an "intellectual ragbag" and awarded only two stars.

He said: "After all the hype and hysteria, the event itself comes as an anti-climax. My initial impression is that Benedict Cumberbatch is a good, personable Hamlet with a strong line in self-deflating irony, but that he is trapped inside an intellectual ragbag of a production by Lyndsey Turner that is full of half-baked ideas. Denmark, Hamlet tells us, is a prison. So too is this production.

"Cumberbatch, in short, suggests Hamlet's essential decency. But he might have given us infinitely more, if he were not imprisoned by a dismal production that elevates visual effects above narrative coherence and exploration of character."

Paul Taylor, for the Independent, was only slightly more forgiving, offering it three stars, but said Cumberbatch's Danish prince was difficult to connect with, owing to the play's staging.

He said: "The actor commands the stage with a whirling energy but we rarely feel soul-to-soul with this Hamlet, partly because he's often made to deliver the soliloquies against distracting freeze-framed or slo-mo action.

"The production, however, often feels curiously uninvolving, as though it lacks a central impulse. I hope that Cumberbatch does more live Shakespeare - in less insanely pressurised circumstances."

The Telegraph and the Mail, represented by Quentin Letts, were equally disappointed in the production, even if they were quite taken with the Imitation Game star's individual performance.

Awarding four stars, Dominic Cavendish wrote in the Telegraph: "Cumberbatch emerges, unquestionably, victorious. He may lack the moodiness of Daniel Day-Lewis, the quirkiness of David Tennant or the raw edge of Jude Law but in his own way he stands equal to the best modern Hamlets.

"But he is, in truth, a blazing, five-star Hamlet trapped in a three-star show. The evening's energies are dissipated by the confining Elsinore of designer Es Devlin, and director Lyndsey Turner's tendency to hack the text."

Mr Letts, who gave the show four stars, felt it was the supporting cast that let Cumberbatch down.

"This is a fine Hamlet in a patchy, occasionally puerile production. Mr Cumberbatch gives a reminder that he is a top-rank stage actor. It is a pity he could not have been persuaded to do his Hamlet with a top-notch outfit such as the Royal Shakespeare Company or an ace director such as Michael Grandage," he said.

"The rest of the cast, if not quite second division, is outclassed by its leading man."

The New York Times' Ben Brantley said Cumberbatch was "superb".

He wrote: "Full of scenic spectacle and conceptual tweaks and quirks, this 'Hamlet' is never boring. It is also never emotionally moving - except on those occasions when Mr Cumberbatch's Hamlet is alone with his thoughts, trying to make sense of a loud, importunate world that demands so much of him.

"Hamlet has never seemed so alone, which gives him an added poignancy. This production would benefit greatly, though, if it allowed him to play well with others, too."