Sir Ian McKellen Joins RSC Company in Stratford

Sir Ian McKellen was with the Royal Shakespeare Company in Stratford-upon-Avon for the last day of its Welsh-set As You Like It on Saturday 7 November.

On this page

The show that just closed
Sir Ian’s Stratford years
What’s next at the RSC

Steffan Hughes, the show’s vocal captain, shared a photo on Facebook of Sir Ian in the middle of the cast and crew on the production’s grassy set, with the words: “Sir Ian McKellen joining us for our final day in Arden.”

The post doesn’t say whether he took part in the day’s performances or came to see the company, and there’s nothing about his visit on the RSC’s news page.

The show that just closed

Daniel Evans’s all-male production starred Jonathan Groff as Rosalind, with Fisayo Akinade as Celia and Richard McCabe as Jaques. It played the Royal Shakespeare Theatre from 26 September, moving the Forest of Arden to a Welsh hillside and filling it with Welsh songs. That round-up of reviews gave it an average of 4.5 out of 5 from 14 critics.

Sir Ian’s Stratford years

It’s familiar ground for him. His own stage record lists Leontes in The Winter’s Tale at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in 1976, and Romeo in Stratford the same year. Also in 1976 came Trevor Nunn’s Macbeth at The Other Place, opposite Dame Judi Dench. He returned to the RSC in 2007 for King Lear and The Seagull, both also directed by Nunn.

He’s due back on stage in London within days: Lear at The Yard Theatre runs from 17 November to 2 January.

What’s next at the RSC

The Royal Shakespeare Theatre’s next show is The Three Musketeers, from 28 November to 9 January. Middlemarch Parts 1 and 2 runs in the Swan Theatre until 16 January, according to the RSC’s listings.