Ian Mckellen Acting Shakespeare This booklet originally served as a programme for 1\cting Shakespeare' on Sunday 31st August 1986, 500 of which were personally signed by Ian McKellen. -1- CTING SHAKESPEARE began in America and Scandinavia, a drama 977, when I was invited to pre­ school in Moscow ( quite illegally), an sent a solo performance for the open air theatre in Washington DC, a Edinburgh International Festival. I was restaurant in Charlottesville, Virginia, as acting for the Royal Shakespeare Company well as theatre festivals in Paris, Belfast, at the time and, with my mind full of Bolton and of course, Edinburgh. Shakespeare, it was almost inevitable that Much of this touring has been a quickly-devised show should be based organised by the British Council, who on that work. have had to respond to the regular cuts in The first performance in St Cecilia's their grants by sponsoring more and more Hall was pretty tame. I'd scarcely worked soloists and fewer and fewer full com­ out what I wanted to say, let alone learnt panies of actors. the famous speeches. So I had cribs stuf­ Most recently I tapped the commer­ fed up my sleeve, with prompts all over the cial possibilities of Shakespeare with a run little stage. That might have been the end in Los Angeles and ew York, followed by of it and as I've never much liked other a tour of Canada. people's one-man shows, I shouldn't have During these ten years the show has much missed my own. developed into an entertainment for But an invitation a year later from Shakespeare enthusiasts who don't hear Israel and a subsequent visit with ACTING him in English as often as they would like. SHAKESPEARE to wonderfully enthusiastic I hope that Londoners - with a host of audiences in Jerusalem, changed my full-scale Shakespeare readily on tap - mind. will welcome ACTI G SHAKESPEARE .. I had unwittingly issued a visa which I'm grateful to you for buying this has since taken me across Europe, often to souvenir of an occasion when we met to Socialist countries and introduced me not honour Shakespeare and two causes only to the world-wide reverence in which which I unreservedly support. Shakespeare is held but also to the widest possible variety of theatre conditions. I've played national theatres in Romania, or­ way and Cyprus ( on both sides of the Green Line); I've played universities in -3- • • n 1947, Santa Claus delivered the voice and gesture: I think I realised that Imogen Icheapest in the range of Pollock's Toy is a great part - but how did Ashcroft do it? Theatres to a stage struck 8 year-old and This divinity was beyond what I knew of acting. so I did my first Shakespeare in our It made no connection with my own clod-hop­ lounge in Wigan, with scenery and ping efforts. cardboard cut-outs from Olivier's film of HAMLET, sliding Sir Laurence onto wire and waggling him at a petite t the Boys' Division of Bolton School, we Jean Simmons - me doing both voices. were encouraged to act, if we wanted to , just as much as to play soccer - which I never wanted to. So each dinner-break, I dodged n South Lancashire in the 50's, there through the dribblers in the playground, to Iwas a huge variety of theatre and Isa~ Hopefield Miniature Theatre, a converted plenty of varied Shakespeare - my HAMLET Fie , Edwardian villa, just along the main road. older sister playing Bully Bottom in an all­ There, the same crowd of boys and masters from schoolgirl MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM; Gielgud's the summer came to Stratford, spent the rest of Japanese-style K.ING LEAR on tour in Manchester; the year rehearsing little melodramas, Doris Speed (later Coronation Street's Annie marionette shows, French playlets (in the origi­ Walker) as Lady Macbeth with the local nal) or bits from Aristophanes or Shakespeare. amateurs. Then, each summer, I went on the Each term we put on a programme for 50 indul­ school camp, pitched near Stratford-upon-Avon, gent parents, packed into the ground-floor where we saw the productions season after sea­ auditorium of the old mansion. At Hopefield, I son. We queued through the night for half-a­ decided that I much preferred acting to making crown standing, wore ourselves out punting all puppets or scenery. I even practised a rudimen­ day and we snoozed through stretches of the tary acting technique. In the school library, a most eminent performances. Mostly, my eyes theatre-manual defined the principle of 'upstag­ were wide open in amazement. ing': ' the actor furthest from the audience is the most dominant'. How infuriating, as a 13 year­ old Malvolio in the Letter Scene from TWELFTH n 1957, I saw Peggy Ashcroft in C\'MBELINE. NIGHT, to be upstaged throughout by Sir Toby IThe beauty and grace of Imogen was so over­ Belch and the rest of them, hiding in the box-tree powering, that I fancied it was all for my benefit behind me! It might have helped ifl hadn't held alone. I had seen Dame Peggy up close, when I my arrogant little head so far back. Never mind: got her autograph and I knew she was, in life, old as the classics master stuck on my crepe-hair enough to be Imogen's mother. But from the beard, he joked: 'Of course, McKellen has back of the stalls, she was essential youth, in grease-paint flowing in his veins'. I believed him. -4- EJ (J 5t B I th r w n nnu I rRt \R B ' Id H th · · r d n, pr • r k fT twi h rd in m ut n n h r l m r unt h... n . h hi b k t m nt pr v I but . Id h rd th h u - nd h fT un th l hi h d th b k - m n .. .' - h 1ui ti pu h d p n d ubl -d r . whi h I d hind him. I im ut b th m, ti II ' d r H rr d nd It d - h turn d r rd v r n· t h • r th w rd '. pt nt th lin him If ntu II I J\uditi nin m t ur Dr. m ti ' lu m ind p n r\. tt r t mimi B rt n hi p p h - n -7- -8- hi p ndul u j w nd t, inklin . \\'h n upl fnwppr riti p n · ·n truth · tul t d m nd uld n w d i n I th tr . hr m nth_ T n n m · d- f-t rm · r ir t d it in · tim . Wh n w t k th th Id . h tr H, mm und id: At the Lyric. Hamm r mith. the am rid e A D.C. fay eek pr due i n, "Lo e' Labour ." had CAMBRIDG some neat ong , and Ian McKellen AR THEATRE t: ed i ns of promise. I lfT Id id d t h , tr , I p wi h {I - ) I r turn t Hf R\ ,. t - ' h w, A h l \\ < Pri ), r , u , nd unt m • ~I H ,, had, r u h d in fr nt , \R I udi p r d th mu h p int r u m · n r r t "h • ,,. r r I i th.t I\· n v r . 11ink th h rd lri ht. d m, k -up. d if th n' t h r th w rd . -10- n 1963, Laur nee Olivier founded th ... a.- IIIOIC.U,O MMMU. I ational Theatre of Great Britain at the Old --c- ~.,..~......... ic in London. t the end of that same year, n.a.-•-0...t l».VJDV.VILI c-...;.-o...,..._.~ j,\Mi.l~ John eville (late of the ic) opened a new :-I~"· ~~ ,. .,..._ ._ ~ MCN"IIU. "-..-.r.-..-~ U.Nw.&al.UIN playhouse at ottingham, playing oriolanu ,_...,._ JO'OfOOtJ.n,11_,.... "-...... .--a.iUOLI) .,_~ JQ1'811CDI.UIO in the inaugural production. Hi director wa a ..... .-.. ,otOtooum. 0.0..,_ MlfllN,.OMAOfl.L ,_.._ JQIQ(n,n-- giant 6 feet 4 inches, and a theatre legend, .,_....._.. Mtc:NAll.ca,,,n,iou, ------ flOMIOlu.HH IOfOfl'Oft.lOIOICIDU.IH:I Tyrone Guthrie. He wa the father of modern T...,~ ..na~ .,,..,..,. ...... ... ~ ocaonrTlll'l'MOl.- .,_., .., .,c.,,..,a,_ directors in that his work wa flamboyant! indiv­ .............. ~ ...._,. ,._..,.OOUGL.U~-y- 0..- NMlOII. jm.DAX idual, with a trong d ign concept. Hi en e of ........ ~~~----- ~~---=~~=-z~:-::-.."':"C .. ..,._.....,,._, ........ humour and cheeky irony, often up et the critic .-.ir.....,a.w._._ ( though not, I think many audience ) e pe­ ciall when it nudged tragedy off-'balance. For Guthrie, theatre wa above all meant to be enter­ and only when I was fully prepared did he taining. He travelled the world and wher ver h allow me to work with the re t of the ca t. I d worked grabbed hold of his actors and domi­ been in the bu ines for only 2½ year . It took nated them. He despised laziness and expected another 7 or so befor I full dared to make a everyone actor , tage-managers and stage­ fool of my elf in the rehear al room. Guthri crew , to reach for their high t potential. He crucially pu hed me on th way at the dre - wa inspiring.