Ian McKellen On Stage

3.5 stars

Sir Ian McKellen: the mere prospect of seeing him live would stir up excitement in any Lord of the Rings or Shakespeare fan. And that was very much how I felt – I mean, who wouldn’t want to see Gandalf live? McKellen’s one-man show is a tribute to his 80th birthday and 50 years of acting, with the proceeds going to theatre charities. Well-versed in Shakespeare, Chekov and Beckett, McKellen has also acted on the big screen as Gandalf and Magneto. Throughout the show, his passion for live theatre and Shakespeare was clear. However, whilst advertised as involving “Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU”, the focus of the show was on Shakespeare and not on the other aspects as promised.

I was initially buzzing with excitement, hoping that he would shed some light on his stint in Lord of the Rings. The show opened with McKellen reading a passage from Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings, including his famous “You shall not pass!” line. However, the passage was read a little quickly – at times, the words melded into one another, and it almost seemed like he was rushing through it. After the short 10 minutes of Tolkien and a few swings of his sword Glamdring (which was the highlight of the show for me!), McKellen moved on and never returned to Middle Earth.

McKellen went on to talk extensively about his personal life. He grew up in Lancashire and was drawn to theatre from a young age, with a penchant for Shakespeare’s works. McKellen soon realised that his enthusiasm for theatre warranted his pursuit of acting as a full-time career. And that is what he did, progressing from small local productions to the Royal National Theatre; McKellen went on to win every major theatrical award in the UK at least once. Whilst it was interesting to find out more about McKellen’s story, this section of the show was perhaps more drawn-out than required.

The second half of the show focused on McKellen’s experiences of Shakespeare’s works. McKellen went through each of Shakespeare’s plays individually, talking about his own personal experience and doing snippets of his lines. This would have been ideal for a Shakespeare fan; indeed, many members of the audience seemed to thoroughly enjoy themselves. However, going through all sixty-six plays was a rather lengthy process. For someone like me, who is not hugely well-versed in Shakespeare, many of the quips and anecdotes went over my head and I found myself lost at times.

Overall, I am glad to have seen a household name like McKellen in the flesh. For the Shakespearean fan, this would have been an ideal evening; for everyone else, it may be a struggle to engage fully with the entire show.