Benedict Cumberbatch on Syrian migration crisis: ‘F— the politicians’

The “Sherlock” star, who has been starring in “Hamlet” at the Barbican in London, has been giving post-show monologues urging patrons to donate to Save the Children. According to Cumberbatch in one of his post-performance speeches, he has raised more than $150,000 in audience donations.

During his performance on Tuesday, Cumberbatch let loose about his feelings on the British government’s decision to accept 20,000 refugees over the next five years.

“He burst into this magnificent monologue about Syrian refugees, about how they are all fathers, mothers, daughters and sons, just like us,” Charlotte Fletcher, a 25-year-old public relations worker who attended the performance, told NBC News.

“Then he just shouted, ‘F— the politicians!'” Fletcher continued. “It was a wonderful moment. It was very impassioned and from the heart. It was amazing to see an actor just being so impassioned and raw.”

Another audience member, Rachel Martin, also told NBC News that Cumberbatch used forceful language to drive home his point.

“It was very eloquent, emotional and beautifully put … He gave a four-letter word to the politicians and said, ‘We’ve got to do something about it,” she said.

In his monologues, Cumberbatch usually reads a poem called “Home” by Samali poet Warsan Shire that includes the line, “No one puts children in a boat unless the water is safer than the land.”

He also tends to recount the experiences of a friend who volunteered on the Greek island of Lesbos, where thousands of immigrants arrive daily. On Wednesday, a boat carrying about 300 refugees sank. About two dozen bodies have been found, 242 were rescued, with the rest still missing.

“Everywhere on the horizon there was nothing but boats and on the shoreline nothing but lifejackets,” he said, according to The Guardian. “We are saying, as citizens of the world, we see you … and at least some help is coming.”