Stephen Jewell writes: This week, the great Ian McKellen is back in New Zealand, acting in the Royal Shakespeare Company’s touring productions of King Lear and The Seagull. He tells STEPHEN JEWELL why he can’t have sex in Singapore or smoke in New Zealand and why “you can always rely on Shakespeare”. Just as the titular majesty goes missing in the third act of King Lear, Sir Ian McKellen is proving equally elusive. The original plan was to travel up to Stratford-upon-Avon to watch the final performance of King Lear at the Royal Shakespeare Company’s Courtyard Theatre and then meet McKellen and co-star Frances Barber the following day. [More]
Category: Hobbit Cast News
Last Monday Sir Ian McKellen was on the telly in his star turn in Extras. “I said to Peter Jackson, ‘you do know I’m not really a wizard?”‘ he said, to Ricky Gervais’ character. Now here he is in Melbourne where, the next night, I will watch his King Lear strip away the layers until he stands naked and tormented before us. His Lear got a standing ovation and he put his hand over his heart as he took his bow. Now, I do know he is not really a king but for 3 1/2 hours I believed he was. That’s the confusing, wonderful magic of acting. His Lear, and in almost everything written about it this is mentioned with varying degrees of rude innuendo, gets his pants off. This seems to be some big deal, but it’s not, he sighs, to him. [More]
From abc.net.au: Sir Ian McKellen is widely recognised as the best classical actor of his generation, he has a glittering array of awards including two Academy Award nominations, and he’s been knighted. Now at 68, Sir Ian has finally tackled perhaps Shakespeare’s most demanding role, King Lear, and for eight days in Melbourne, he and a stellar cast will present 10 performances of ‘Lear’ and another great classic, Chekov’s ‘The Seagull’. [More]
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]
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]