SINGAPORE — Ian McKellen says playing the title character in William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” is more nerve-racking than his recent Hollywood film roles. Singapore is the first stop on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s international tour of “King Lear” and “The Seagull” by Anton Chekhov. ” ‘King Lear,’ I’ve been seeing all my life. I mean, the great actors of my lifetime … to join their company, as it were, by playing a part that’s challenged them, is one of the great joys of being an actor who does the classics,” the 68-year-old actor said Wednesday at a briefing. “Without doubt, Lear is the one I got most nervous about.” [More]
Category: Ian McKellen
SINGAPORE (Reuters Life!) – As Gandalf and Magneto, he’s faced off fire-breathing monsters and superheroes, but actor Ian McKellen says he picks his battles when it comes to celebrity causes. The Oscar-nominated thespian stepped into a brewing debate in Singapore about decriminalising homosexual acts just hours after arriving in the city state this week as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s touring production of William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull”. McKellen, 68, was quoted in Singapore’s pro-government media urging the state to repeal its laws that make sexual acts between men a crime. [More]
SINGAPORE (AFP) – British actor Ian McKellen on Tuesday urged tightly-governed Singapore to loosen up and repeal its archaic laws barring homosexual acts. The openly gay McKellen indicated the laws, which are remnants of British colonial rule, may affect a vibrant business city like Singapore, which is vying with other Asian cities to draw more foreign talent and professionals. McKellen was in Singapore as part of the Royal Shakespeare Company’s world tour to stage William Shakespeare’s “King Lear” and Anton Chekhov’s “The Seagull” at the Esplanade, Southeast Asia’s most modern performing arts centre. [More]
British actor and Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen is proving so popular with Wellington audiences that a third performance of King Lear will be staged next month. Tickets to the Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of King Lear at Westpac St James Theatre on August 11 and 12 sold out last month, but tickets were still available for two performances of The Seagull on August 13 and 14, which also stars Sir Ian. The August 13 performance of The Seagull has now been replaced by a third performance of King Lear. People who had bought tickets to The Seagull on August 13 will be given tickets to the August 14 show. [More]
London, July 9 : ‘Lord Of The Rings’ wizard Gandalf, played by Sir Ian McKellen has topped a poll of world’s favourite wizard, beating Harry Potter, in a survey conducted by cinema advertising firm Pearl & Dean. Gandalf, who got 44 percent of the votes, was followed by Professor Albus Dumbledore, brought to life by Sir Michael Gambon in Harry Potter came second with 17 percent of the votes. Author J.K. Rowling’s young wizard Potter played by Brit actor Daniel Radcliffe was ranked third with 9 percent of the votes. [More]
The Royal Shakespeare Company productions of King Lear and The Seagull — both starring Ian McKellen and directed by Trevor Nunn — will arrive at the West End’s New London Theatre Nov. 12. News of the transfer comes just before the delayed press performance of McKellen’s Lear, which will be shown to the critics as a matinee, followed by an evening performance of The Seagull, in which McKellen plays Sorin. The Shakespeare and Chekhov plays will run in repertory at Stratford-upon-Avon’s Courtyard Theatre until June 23. The RSC made the decision to postpone the original April 3 press night of King Lear after Frances Barber, who plays Goneril, sustained a knee injury in a bicycle accident. [More]