Just weeks before his New Zealand stage visit, out actor Sir Ian McKellen has admitted playing William Shakespeare's King Lear is more nerve-racking than his recent Hollywood film roles. Singapore is the first stop on the Royal Shakespeare Company's international tour of ‘King Lear' and ‘The Seagull' by Anton Chekhov. The production comes to Auckland and Wellington in August. “I've been seeing King Lear all my life. I mean, the great actors of my lifetime ... to join their company, as it were, by playing a part that's challenged them, is one of the great joys of being an actor who does the classics,” the 68-year-old actor says. "Without doubt, Lear is the one I got most nervous about." The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) has agreed to a third performance of King Lear in Wellington, replacing one of the performances of ‘The Seagull', on Monday 13th August – the other two dates have sold out. “Hurry and book now for that evening,” advises Rainbow Wellington's Tony Reed “The RSC will simply not be visiting NZ – or at least Wellington – in future, one suspects, as it is so expensive to bring them. "They are clearly only here this time because Sir Ian insisted. So let's reward his zeal by going to see one the world's greatest Shakespearian actors in this major role.” The RSC will perform in Auckland on the 18-26th of August – tickets are available via Ticketek. The Gay Auckland Business Association is hosting a dinner with McKellen, called ‘A Night With a Night', at the National Maritime Museum on Friday 17th August. A fundraiser for the GABA Charitable Trust, tickets cost $120. Please contact Neville Creighton for bookings, on 09 476 9181 or 027 414 5208. Ref: Associated Press, Rainbow Wellington, GABA (m)