Hamlet - Sir Ian McKellen

When it was announced, last June, that Sir Ian McKellen was going to play Hamlet, I signed up for the theatre's  mailing list. Originally the production was planned for last Summer /  Autumn, but as we all know, many plans went awry.

 However, in March, the theatre mailed to say the show was back on, for this summer, so I contacted two of my best theatre-going friends, and we booked tickets, and on Saturday, met up in Windsor to see the show.

We met up early enough for drinks and catching up, which was wonderful, then we went for  a delicious Moroccan meal, at  Al Fassia  before heading to the theatre.

Our seats were in the stalls, which meant that we had a good view, but rather a crick in the neck when watching bits of the play as characters clambered up to the walkways which formed parts of the set!

The production has  age-blind, gender-blind and colour-blind casting, so as well as McKellen  playing the title role (with Jenny Seagrove, as his mother Gertrude) we had Frances Barber as Polonius and Francesca Annis as the ghost of Hamlet's father, and Ashley D Gayle as Laertes (He had taken over the role at short notice after the original Laertes, Emmanuella Cole, left the production, and he did it extremely well)

I was not enthused by the set - lots of metal ladders and walkways, which I didn't feel added much but which did squeak and rattle when used, which I found distracting, and also meant looking up at a very awkward angle when actors were up on the walkways!

I thoroughly enjoyed McKellen's performance - his first appearance was in deep mourning - formal black suit, silk top hap, dark glasses and astrakhan collar - a very Victorian / Mr Holmes vibe, however the costuming and setting generally were modern - later in the play he appeared in trainers and on an exercise bike, for example, which seems to me to be taking the whole too, too, solid flesh  speech a bit too literally.

I was also not enamoured with the decision to present Ophelia (Alis Wyn Davies) as an angry rock chick - we first met her singing doubt thou the stars are fire.. , accompanying herself on guitar, and then in the mad scenes, again she sang, and accompanied herself, and the control this needed  meant she seemed more angry than mad.  And Gertrude's odd accent as a disrtaction, never explained.

The director had also decided to use hair as way of indicating mental distress - Hamlet cuts his hair off, stripping down for revenge. Gertrude's wig is pulled off, leaving her exposed, as she is shown by Hamlet the causes of his grief, and Ophelia apparently finds time to cut off her own hair as she goes mad. I felt it was a mistake to use the  same metaphor repeatedly like this, it would perhaps have been effective if used for one of the three!

Over all, I felt the production was a bit patchy: There were excellent performances - Ian McKellen is always a joy to watch, and it was wonderful to see and hear him speaking the verse (perhaps a touch fast, in the To be, or not to be soliloquy, but that's a minor criticism) , I never quite forgot his age, but it didn't prevent his performance being convincing, and moving.I was impressed by the performances off Ashley Gayle (Laertes) and Ben Allen (Horatio).

I'm happy that I saw it, and that McKellen decided to give it another go. And I am looking forward to seeing The Cherry Orchard , with the same cast, in October. It's a play I am far less familiar with, so will go in with a much more open mind!

Sir Ian McKellen at 80

Sir Ian McKellen turns 80 this year, and to celebrate,he is doing a  one-man show, touring to 80 theatres. up and down the country. The first outside London was Bristol Old Vic.  So naturally I booked tickets, and on Tuesday night my friend A and I went to see him.  And, er, then on Wednesday night I went again....

The Stage, at half time. Spot Glamdring.. 

The show opens with music from LoTR,  with McKellen reading  from The Fellowship of the Ring,  the scene with Gandalf and the Blarog, after which he pulls out Glamdring and invites a young member of the audience to inspect and wiled it..  

The rest of the first half of the evening involves a roughly chronological whistle-stop tour of Sir Ian's life, talking about his early experience the  theatre, at school and university, his decision to become an actor and early experience, and about coming out ( motivated, in part, at his anger about Section 28), being knighted, (and  having his name mispronounced)


Then the second half was all Shakespeare... audience participation to name all of the plays, with anecdotes and excerpts from a chosen selection, meaning we got to hear The Seven Ages of Man, Fear no more the heat of the sun, from Cymbeline, Justice Shallow's reminiscences from Henry VI, the Rogue and Peasant Slave speech from Hamlet, the balcony seat from Romeo & Juliet, several bits from McBeth,  Aufidius's welcome to Coriolanus, - one evening we had Once More Unto the Breach! from Henry V, and the other, the Hollow Crown speech from Richard II, and both evenings finishing with the Our revels now are ended from The Tempest. 

It was glorious! 

And afterwards, he came out to the foyer to collect money for charity (Each theatre gets to chose which charities get the profits from the evening, and from McKellen's bucket-shaking - at Bristol, it was to be for a theatre group for people with disabilities , and for a fund which supports  students from the Old Vic theatre school in gaining professional experience.    

Ian McKellen after the show

I would up tired, after two mid-week nights out, but I regret nothing (well, maybe the fact that we were up in the gods for the first performance, where the seating, while way less uncomfortable than the narrow bench seats I remember from when I saw my first Hamlet there, back in 1991, was still rather cramped!)

I think the rest of the tour is mostly sold out, but he has been adding some extra dates, so if you get a chance to go, take it!  https://www.ianonstage.co.uk/ 

King Lear at the Duke of York's

Just under a year ago, my friend A and I saw Sir Ian McKellen's King Lear, in Chichester, which was incredible. And so when I saw that they were reprising it in London this year, I decided to see it again. (In fairness, I'd go to see McKellen in pretty much anything  he chose to do)

I was curious to see how the production would have been changed, to accommodate  the change from Chichester's small, circular stage, to the Duke of York's larger, more traditional lay out, and how the cast changes would affect the production.

It is still very good. Lear is by turns terrifying and pathetic, as he descends into madness, and this production brings out the black humour in the play.

Edmund's speech about the influence of astrology, for instance, and even Edgar and Gloucester's cliff-top scene both offer laughter as well as  drama (although I could have done without the Fool's fart jokes!) 



The play is, I believe, sold out, except for returns, but it was filmed and broadcast to cinemas, so you may have a chance to catch an 'encore' screening. I'd say if you can, do.

King Lear at Chichester

I saw, back in March, the Sir Ian McKellen would be appearing as King Lear, in Chichester, this autumn, so of course as soon as tickets went on sale I booked, as it seemed to me to be an opportunity not to be missed. I've seen him previously, in The Syndicate,  Waiting for Godot, and more recently in No Man's Land, as well as seeing his one man show earlier this year, but I've never previously seen him live in any Shakespeare.

It was a long wait between booking and seeing the play, but on Saturday evening we finally got to see it!

It was my first visit to the Minerva Theatre in Chichester - it's small, seating around 280 people, and for this production at least, the stage is a red-carpeted circle, out in the auditorium.

Our seats were in the front row, right at one end, which meant we had an excellent, close up view of the action, albeit sometimes at a bit of on angle!

The play opens in Lear's palace, as King Lear (Ian McKellen) announces his plan to divide his kingdom. He stands at a flag-decked lectern, in full uniform, in front of a massive portrait of himself.

Initially jovial, cheerily cutting the map of the country up to pass to his daughters, he then, of course,  quickly turns on his daughter, Cordelia, (Tamara Lawrence) for her honesty. It's interesting to note that in this production, Lear then hands the additional sections of the map, not to Regan (Kirsty Bushell) and Goneril (Dervla Kirwan), but to their respective husbands...

Credit: MANUEL HARLAN

The cast over all is very strong - I particularly enjoyed Damien Molony's Edmund, whose scheming and dastardly behaviour was a pleasure to watch.

Sinead Cusack was Kent, and in disguising herself to follow Lear, disguised herself as a man (which makes the whole 'Neither King Lear or his daughters recognise someone who has been his trusted counsellor for years' thing, marginally more believable).

Lear's '100' knights were bread-roll throwing, tweed and Burberry-clad hooray Henries, and it was easy to sympathise with Regan and Goneril's wish to be rid of them, despite the terms agreed with their father. 

The size of the theatre mean that this production was very intimate, and allowed the soliloquies to be incredibly conversational.

The storm scene was ... damp - and very effective. Vast quantities of rain falling, drenching Lear, Gloucester, the fool, and Edgar, and leaving those of us in the front rows a little damp, as mist drifted our way, and trickles of water overflowing from the stage became streams...

It really emphasised Lear's vulnerability, but also the beginnings of his own humanity, as he tried to cover Edgar/Poor Tom with his coat, and in turn, Kent's care of Lear. (although I have to admit that I was slightly distracted by wondering whether being drenched with cold water for such an extended period could really be good for poor Ian McKellen; he's not as young as he was!) 

In the second half, the red carpet was gone from the stage, leaving it white concrete (all the better for stamping on eyeballs in a squelchy way)and of course things go rapidly downhill for almost everyone.

McKellen's Lear was increasingly vulnerable and human, as his mind and body fail. The closing scenes, as he was reunited with, then mourned for, Cordelia, were very moving. 

In short, it was pretty damn good. I've seen the Ian McKellen has now said this may be his last major Shakespearean role. I hope it isn't, but I am very glad I had the chance to see it - not only for McKellen himself, but also because it was a such a strong cast, I don't think there was a single weak link. 

The run has now ended (and was sold out, in any case) - otherwise I'd be urging everyone to go to see it. But I shall be looking out for Tamara Lawrence and Damien Molony in future....

Ian McKellan: Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others & You

I haven't been to the Park Theatre before. It's a small space. The larger of the two theatres, which we were in, seats just 200 people. (there is a smaller one seating 90), so it's a very intimate space - it reminded me of the Donmar, but slightly smaller.

My seat was in the front row of the circle, looking down on the left hand side of the stage.

The show was titled Shakespeare, Tolkien, Others and You. 

Once we were all seated, the theatre was plunged into total darkness and music from Lord of the Rings rang out, and the lights came up to Ian McKellan reading aloud from the part of 'The Fellowship of the Ring' where Gandalf battles the Blarog on the Bridge of Khazad-dûm, proclaiming "You cannot pass". (After reaching the end of the passage, McKellan pointed out that the films get this wrong, as the words "You shall not pass" never appear in the book - it is 'cannot' every time!).

And were were off! McKellan started by talking a little about filming the Tolkien stories (including giving an excellent Christopher Lee impression, and giving one lucky chap in the front row the opportunity to draw and wield Glamdring, briefly). He also talked about meeting Sir Edmund Hillary, (he asked Peter Jackson whether it might be possible to arrange a meeting with Hillary, and was told to just look him up in the phone book and give him a ring!) and asking him whether it was true that he and Sherpa Tensing are Kendal Mint Cake on Everest (they did).

He then gave us a broadly chronological tour of his early life and influences, starting with a dramatic rendition of "Three Blind Mice" (the earliest poem he learned) and his first trip to the theatre, to see 'Peter Pan', at the age of 3.

We heard about his time watching variety from backstage at a Bolton theatre as a teenager, involvement in school plays, his interview for university and early stage performances, and his experience of coming out to his family.


The reminiscences were backed up with quotes and readings, including Dickens (from Bleak House), Wordsworth ('The Prelude') , and Gerard Manly Hopkins ('The Leaden Echo and the Golden Echo') Oh, and a bit of Widow Twanky!

After the interval, it was Shakespeare all the way. Well, almost.

Ian McKellan started by challenging us, the audience, to name all of the Shakespeare plays, in alphabetical order (which we did), while he passed a few comments (including pointing out that Shakespeare wasn't that good at titles!), and then gave us the pleasure of hearing him give some wonderful Shakesperean speeches, from some of his more memorable roles.

Ian McKellan after the show

So we heard 'The Seven Ages of Man', from As You Like It,  Aufidius's speech welcoming Coriolanus, , the 'Rogue and Peasant Slave' speech from Hamlet, (He was rude about his own Hamlet, very complimentary about Andrew Scott's current performance)   Justice Shallow, from Henry IV Pt.2... He asked if we wanted some King Lear, and then told us we weren't getting any as he is saving it for  later this year.

 Then we moved on to Romeo's 'But soft what light' speech, and a little of Juliet's reply, (and learned that  Shakespeare never mentions any balcony, it's just a theatrical tradition which has stuck!) 

What else? Richard II's 'Hollow Crown' speech.. Macbeth's speech from Act 5, on the death of Lady Macbeth ('Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow') with a little discourse on Macbeth and Richard III,  and Richard, unlike Macbeth, having no conscience.

Finally, we had 'Fear no more the heat of the sun', from Cymbeline, before the penultimate speech, which was the 'Strangers' speech from the play 'Sir Thomas More'; the speech having the distinction of being the only part of Shakespeare's writing we have in his own handwriting:

"You’ll put down strangers, 

Kill them, cut their throats, possess their houses, 

And lead the majesty of law in lyam 

To slip him like a hound; alas, alas, say now the King, 

As he is clement if th’offender mourn, 

Should so much come too short of your great trespass 

As but to banish you: whither would you go? 

What country, by the nature of your error, 

Should give you harbour? Go you to France or Flanders, 

To any German province, Spain or Portugal, 

Nay, anywhere that not adheres to England, 

Why, you must needs be strangers, would you be pleas’d 

To find a nation of such barbarous temper 

That breaking out in hideous violence 

Would not afford you an abode on earth. 

Whet their detested knives against your throats, 

Spurn you like dogs, and like as if that God 

Owed not nor made not you, not that the elements 

Were not all appropriate to your comforts, 

But charter’d unto them? What would you think 

To be us’d thus? This is the strangers’ case 

And this your mountainish inhumanity."

This appeared to be the end, but only appeared...
For an announcement was made, asking whether anyone had ever wanted the opportunity to appear on stage with Sir Ian. Well, who could resist?*
(*7/8 of the audience, it seems )

So, along with about 25 others, I made my way onto the stage, where we all went into a secret huddle so Ian could give us his directions, while the rest of the audience talked among themselves.

I must confess, that our performances did not require an enormous amount of acting skill, not did nay of us have a speaking role, but perhaps, given the lack of rehearsal (or, indeed, auditions) it was probably just as well.

So, you know the part in Henry V when Henry is given a list of the French and English dead, after Agincourt? And Henry gives a speech, starting 'This note doth tell me of ten thousand French, that in the field lie slain'

Sir Ian explained that the text refers to a list, but that the piece of paper is often blank, and then started a mournful litany of French names.. many of which may sound familiar, although not ... Beaune, Burgundy, Moet and Chandon, Veuve Cliquot, and so on..

We were those French dead - on cue, we all dropped 'dead' (It is, I will have you know, harder than you might think to lie entirely dead and unmoving while Ian McKellan is giving the worlds most mournful wine-list!). And then, (again on cue)  we all revived, in order to take our curtain call. Which may have involved me holding Sir Ian's hand...

It was a wonderful show, the chance to wallow in so much impeccably performed Shakespeare was a real luxury and the rest felt conversational and relaxed.

When I booked my ticket, I chose to spend an extra £30 for 'a moment with Sir Ian' after the show, when those of us who had signed up got to briefly meet with Sir Ian, and have a photograph (and autograph if we wanted) .

I have no idea who this chap was but he clearly picked the right short for his meet-and-greet!

I don't normally post photos of myself on the blog, but sometimes, it has to be done...

Me, and Sir Ian!

He's a very nice man, is Ian McKellan. A very, very, nice man. Can't wait to see King Lear in September.

No Man's Land

When you learn that Sir Ian McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart are reuniting to appear on the stage together there is only one possible response, if you live close enough, and that is to book a ticket immediately.

So that is what I did.

And on Saturday I went up to London to see the play, 'No Man's Land' by Harold Pinter.

It's not one I've seen before. I really enjoyed it. Partly because it's Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, who could both make reading the telephone directory fun, and partly because this is a play with many darkly comic moments.

Patrick Stewart is 'Hirst', a wealthy and successful writer, but apparently suffering from some form of memory loss/confusion, although whether this is purely due to excessive alcohol or something more is unclear. Ian McKellen is 'Spooner', a down-at-heel and unsuccessful writer.

They have apparently met in a pub, and returned to Hirst's home to continue to drink, and talk, often at cross purposes. Later, we meet Hirst's companions / servants - Foster (Teale) and Briggs (Molony) who add an air of occasional menace.

It's an odd play, where nothing is entirely clear (how many of the mens' reminiscences are true, how many are attempts at oneupmanship or pure invention, for example) but it's gripping, and often very funny (sometimes doubly so due to the performers, for instance when Spenser comments on Hirst's hair loss).

Well worth seeing.

The live show is on until 17th December, although tickets are not cheap, but it is being shown in cinemas on 15th December - I'd see it, if I were you!

Shakespeare Live!

Yesterday, 23rd April 2016, was the 400th Anniversary of Shakespeare's death, and the Royal Shakespeare Company and the BBC collaborated on a celebration, which was broadcast live on BBC2 and to cinemas.

Naturally, I watched. It was fantastic.

It was introduced by Catherine Tate and David Tennant (who of course, as well as their performances together on Doctor Who, appeared as Benedict and Beatrice in Much Ado about Nothing in 2011)



The evening featured wonderful snippets of Shakespeare's plays, but also other art inspired by him, such as Ballet -  Tyrone Singleton, of the Birmingham Royal Ballet, who danced Othello, was particularly impressive  (I enjoyed that more than the Romeo and Juliet pas-de-deux)

There was also opera (The English National Opera, giving parts of Berlioz's 'Beatrice et Benedict' and Verdi's 'Falstaff') and more music and dance - Akala, Rufus Wainwright, Gregory Porter, Rufus Hound and Henry Goodman performing 'Brush up your Shakespeare', and Joseph Fiennes wandering around Stratford upon Avon with his hands in his pockets, giving a potted biography of the man himself.

Al Murray as Bottom (C) BBC

There were, of course, some wonderful performances - Judi Dench and Al Murray, as Titania and Bottom, Harriet Walter as Cleopatra, Meera Syall as Beatrice.

And, one of the biggest highlights of the evening, Paapa Essiedu (currently appearing as Hamlet at the RSC, and doing so exceptionally well) came in in order to give the 'To be, or not to be' soliloquy, and was, alas, rudely interrupted...





(If the video won't play for you, Paapa is interrupted by Tim Minchin wishing to give advice about the speech, followed in turn by Benedict Cumberbatch (mistaken by all for Eddie Redmayne) Harriet Walter, David Tennant, Rory Kinnear, Sir Ian McKellen and Dame Judi Dench ("It is I, Hamlet the Dame") and finally, Prince Charles...  

I would have loved it if they had managed to get Maxine Peake, too

Sadly, the video stops at that point, and doesn't show Paapa going on to give the full speech, which cannot have been easy, following directly on from the sketch!

Sir Ian McKellen

And directly afterwards, Sir Ian McKellen gave 'The Migrant's Speech' from Sir Thomas More:

Grant them removed, and grant that this your noise
Hath chid down all the majesty of England;
Imagine that you see the wretched strangers,
Their babies at their backs and their poor luggage,
Plodding tooth ports and costs for transportation,
And that you sit as kings in your desires,
Authority quite silent by your brawl,
And you in ruff of your opinions clothed;
What had you got? I’ll tell you. You had taught
How insolence and strong hand should prevail,
How order should be quelled; and by this pattern
Not one of you should live an aged man,
For other ruffians, as their fancies wrought,
With self same hand, self reasons, and self right,
Would shark on you, and men like ravenous fishes

Would feed on one another.

It was beautifully done.

I would have loved to have been in the audience at Stratford,but as I couldn't be, I'm glad they broadcast it.I believe the full thing is available on BBC iPlayer for the next month.

Happy Birthday, Master Shakespeare! 

( I may also have spent some time watching Tom Hiddleston and Jeremy Irons in 'The Hollow Crown', and am looking forward to the next ones, the first of which is going to be shown early next month)

In Which There Is Theatre and Ian McKellen

A couple of months ago, when I first got my  season programme from Bath Theatre Royal, I saw that in September, Sir Ian McKellen would be here, playing in The Syndicate. So I bought a ticket. I didn't, at the time, know anything about the play, nor did I know it would be just before I was due to go on holiday to Italy...

The play is by Eduardo de Fillipo whose work I'm not familiar with, although I gather that to any Italian this would be unthinkable. The play, The Syndicate is set in Naples, in 1960, and follows Don Antonio, (Sir Ian McKellen)  his family and associates.

It is an interesting play - Don Antonio doesn't appear at the start - we see the rest of his household, and it becomes clear that he is a very powerful, much feared and respected man; the young man who has arrived in order to have a bullet removed from his leg is not able to stop shouting or crying out by appeals to his courage, but the warning that he might wake Don Antonio does the trick!

(Photo by Manuel Harlan, from Bath Theatre Royal website)

And it quickly becomes apparent that Don Antonio, although he is obviously a ruthless man, does have a conscience of sorts. He seeks to prevent vendettas, ("Next time you want to shoot somebody, you speak to me first") and steps in to prevent a loan-shark from pursuing his victim, but at the same time he makes clear to his friend and doctor Dottore Fabio Della Ragione (Michael Pennington) that should he leave, to go to America as he wishes, he will be killed. He also clearly has had a very murky past, among the mafia of New York "it involved bloodshed, of course. But nothing dishonourable"

The play revolves around Don Antonio's attempts to reconcile a father and son, in order to prevent the son from killing his father. There were excellent performances from Gavin Fowler as Rafiluccio Santaniello as the son, and Annie Hemingway as Rita, his (very pregnant) girlfriend and Ian McKellen was superb, managing to be very funny at times, but also to create a very real air of menace, and despite everything, to be a sympathetic character.

I felt Cherie Lunghi (Donna Armida Barracano, Don Antonio's wife) was a little wasted, as she had very little to do, and somehow the strong feeling of a close family which came across from the actors playing Don Antonio's daughter, sons and housekeeper didn't seem to extend to her, but over all there was a very strong cast, and while the play perhaps paints a somewhat rosy and optimistic view of mafia life it was very well done.

I'm glad I went. And I hope I don't meet anyone like Don Antonio and his associates when I'm in the Naples area this week!