Ian McKellen is heading back to the London theatre stage with a one man show – but not in the West End
Getting his East London vibe on
Ian McKellen, veteran of the stage and icon of the performed Tudor verse, is swapping the West End for the East End, taking on a starring role at one of London’s coolest cult stages.
Swapping Shakespearean ruff for some kind of thrifted garms, Sir Ian will be heading to The Yard to celebrate the reopening of the cutting edge performance space. The Yard initially closed its doors this time last year, after a staggering and critically acclaimed 12 year run. The off-beat venue was originally built from scavenged materials and set up shop in Hackney Wick for a limited time, before closing its doors and using its self-generated funding to open a newer, bigger and better space.
Time Out first broke the news, reporting that The Yard is officially returning with Sir Ian McKellen taking on a leading role in a production for the theatre’s inaugural season.
The actor has got a year busy enough to rival Anne Hathaway, heading to our screens in Avengers: Doomsday before his run at The Yard. The 86 year old will be performing a one man show called LEAR, unsurprisingly adapted from Shakespeare’s King Lear by playwright Simon Stephens and The Yard’s founder and artistic director Jay Miller. According to Miller, it’s set to be “a really beautiful show both about Lear and Ian”, as the show sets to blend the original material with personal musings from the actor.
Alongside LEAR, the Yard will have a stacked summer programme, kicking off in July when the venue officially reopens with Philosophy of the World, which follows the bizarre story of reluctant ’60s/’70s girl group The Shaggs. Next on the docket is The World is Full Of Unmarried Men, an adaptation of Jackie Collins’ debut novel. Although don’t expect a bog standard performance, as the whole show will be performed by Barbie dolls, and whilst it may sound a little on the whacky side, the show has been a smash hit across its European performances.
Perhaps most excitingly on the lineup is a revival of For Coloured Girls Who Have Considered Suicide / When the Rainbow is Enuf by Ntozake Shange. The production will mark the 50th anniversary production of the seminal piece which was last performed in London in 1980 at Royalty Theatre (now The Peacock Theatre) in Kingsway.
This performance will be followed by McKellan’s Lear, although we don’t yet have confirmation on the run. We do know that it will be followed by another exciting show though (as per The Yard’s MO). Whilst a Shakespearean inspired one-man McKellan show is a tough act to follow, if anyone was up to the challenge, it’s Sex Education writer Troy Hunter who’s debut play There’s Something About Adam Black will be keeping us entertained.
The season comes to a close with the final show Mrs Dalloway which is a new adaptation of Virginia Woolf's novel following the inner life of a single upper class woman over the course of one day during the interwar period. The adaptation has been helmed by Holly Robinson and is being directed by Anna Himali Howard who are no strangers to transforming a classic, with the duo having The Secret Garden for Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre stage in 2024.
So, whether you're a die-hard McKellen stan or you want to catch some summer theatre at one of London's edgiest site-specific spaces, make sure you have The Yard on your radar.
You can already book tickets for the programme's opening show, Philosophy of the World, with the rest of the season's tickets on sale soon.
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