I have seen a living legend on stage. For his 80th birthday, Sir Ian McKellen took this show to over 80 theatres around the UK. He has now returned to London for a limited season in order to raise funds for theatre charities.
It was inspiring to see him and hear about how he fell in love with theatre. And it was interesting to learn about a world of theatre that is unknown in the London theatre world today. The concept of rep theatre, actors being hired by theatres, and being part of theatre companies that put on a number of shows throughout the year, is somewhat alien to the stages of the West End today. I don’t know enough about regional theatre to know if this is still done and, although it is still done in the world of ballet, it seems like a tradition from bygone era that has, sadly, been lost. After hearing Sir Ian talk about his time in rep theatre, and talk about some of the people he was in theatre companies with, I feel like the rep theatre construct is responsible for some of our most treasured actors: Maggie Smith, Judi Dench, Sir Derek Jacobi, and, of course, Sir Ian himself. What a wonderful chance it gave actors and, perhaps, greater security than just the run of a show.
This show, however, wasn’t quite what I was expecting. I thought that this was going to be a conversation with the audience about his life and how he fell in love with the theatre, with a few monologues and soliloquies from some of his favourite plays. And, whilst that was the premise of the show, it was less ‘Sir Ian McKellen in conversation’ and more of a performance. It was much more scripted than I thought it was going to be, and I definitely felt that the performance/stage mask was still on and that the audience only got glimpses of the real person underneath.
You know what though? It didn’t matter. I saw Sir Ian McKellen performing on stage. And audiences are unknown entities. So to try and do a completely improvised/conversational show would be incredibly hard work.
It was a pleasure and a privilege to see Sir Ian’s show. Surprisingly, this show isn’t completely sold out, so if you want to see a national treasure, a genuinely lovely person, and do homage to British theatre, then get yourself a ticket. You won’t regret it, and you’ll also be supporting theatre charities, so it’s a completely excellent evening all round.