Ian McKellen says: “I’m celebrating my 80th birthday by touring a new solo show to theatres I know well and a few that I don’t. The show starts with Gandalf and will probably end with an invitation to act with me on stage. In-between there will be anecdotes and acting. I open at my local arts centre in January and end up by August in Orkney.
Live theatre has always been thrilling to me, as an actor and in the audience. Growing up in Lancashire, I was grateful to those companies who toured beyond London and I’ve always enjoyed repaying that debt by touring up and down the country myself, with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Prospect Theatre, the Actors’ Company, as well as with commercial productions. Sean Mathias, the director and I have worked together for stage and screen, many happy times.
As patron of The Little Theatre Guild (2008 - 2017) I visited many of the 100 member theatres. None of them is more impressive than The Questors Theatre. I wanted to bring my new show to Ealing in gratitude to the LTG as schoolboy, audience and actor. I’ve only been on its stage once before in public conversation with Martin Bowley (2008). I last worked in Ealing at the film studios in the BBC’s “The Dresser””.
Profits will go towards a refurbishment of the auditoria.
