Sir Ian McKellen has been exploring heartland New Zealand at the start of his 11-centre tour Ian McKellen on Stage, a new show the openly-gay actor created to raise funds to restore Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal. “There’s plenty of Shakespeare in the second half, so I wanted to open the tour in Stratford-on-Patea,” Sir Ian says. Before the premiere, he wandered the streets of Stratford, 67 of which are named after Shakespeare’s characters. “I noticed a street named Regan St. Now Regan is King Lear’s terrible daughter - a psychopathic torturer. Not sure I’d like to live on her street,” he told the Stratford audience later. McKellen and New Zealand have had an affinity with each other since he spent considerable time here filming his iconic role of Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, while he is also popular with many glbt people all over the world for his firm stance on gay rights. Sir Ian is back in New Zealand reprising his Oscar-nominated role in The Hobbit films and is spending his weekends in May and June touring New Zealand. As well as the ticket income, more than $3000 was donated at last weekend’s two shows through programme purchase and Sir Ian’s bucket collection. Ian McKellen on Stage is a new show, devised in part by the audience. Audience members are invited to ask question about Sir Ian's work and life, as he retraces his journey from the north of England to the West End of London, to Broadway, Hollywood and to Middle Earth. Ian McKellen on Stage heads to Hamilton on Saturday 12 May and Tauranga on Sunday 13 May, before the first South Island performances in Nelson on Sunday 20 May, then performances in Auckland and Christchurch, followed by Wanaka, Hastings, Wellington and Carterton. Booking details for Ian McKellen on Stage can be found at www.mckellen.com
Credit: GayNZ.com Daily News staff
First published: Wednesday, 9th May 2012 - 11:54am