Sir Ian McKellen

Sir Ian McKellen is currently on tour to celebrate his 80th birthday. Also, his aim is to raise money for the arts, allowing theatres and companies to decide what the money raised will be spent on.

I have been a fan of Sir Ian McKellen as long as I can remember. He is someone who I rank with many of Britain’s great classical actors such as Dame Judi Dench, Sir Michael Gambon, Sir Patrick Stewart, the list is endless. And when the opportunity came up for me to see him on the stage of the RSC theatre, I was over the moon. It has been on my theatre bucket list to see Sir Ian McKellen on the stage, and what better place than Stratford-Upon-Avon, Shakespeare’s home town?

From the moment he took to the stage, the audience was fully captivated. Especially as he opened with a passage from ‘The Fellowship of the Ring’. McKellen held the audience’s attention as he told tales about his journey to stardom. There was so much humour and emotion as he took us on a tour of his career, we were even given the chance to see his Dame Twanky. I was grinning all the way through the first half – and possibly a little starstruck.

The second half was a wonderful nod to Shakespeare and all his plays. Sir Ian McKellen told anecdotes of productions he had performed in, as well as performing extracts from plays – he must be one of the only actors who can create a Shakespeare medley. In fact, I may have shed a little tear when paid tribute to some of the family and friends he has lost over the years. It was beautiful.

An evening in the company of Sir Ian McKellen is one of the best moments I have spent in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre (and that’s a bold statement). Everyon around me was also having an amazing time, which was a true tribute to the talent of the star that is Sir Ian McKellen.

Hobson’s Choice

Many years ago in Mrs Dove’s English class, a group of students (including me) studied the play ‘Hobson’s Choice’. We also watched the wonderful black-and-white film with Charles Laughton and Sir John Mills. Therefore, when I saw that the Birmingham Royal Ballet was putting on the ballet as part of the summer season, I knew it had to be a treat for me and my Mum to go.

It was perfect! A fairly modern ballet as it was first composed, choreographed and performed in 1989. It is absolutely magical, totally reminiscent of those old silent movies. The story is told completely through the music, the choreography and the perfect expressions all the dancers performed. And, any ballet that can get ’10 Green Bottles’ into its score is good fun. Every dancer on the stage performed their character with great humour and emotion, and it really brought the whole story to life. The whole ballet was completely engaging and the audience were enthralled. There was even a little sing-along too.

‘Hobson’s Choice’ is such a delightful story which actually has a very strong female lead in the guise of Hobson’s daughter Maggie. This could be considered quite unusual for its time. But she is certainly the one behind sorting out her father and helping Will Mossop to really be appreciated for the talented boot maker that he is. She was performed brilliantly by Beatrice Parma.

Although, this may not be your traditional ballet tale, it was wonderful and I would absolutely love to see it again, as sometimes it does not feel like you can take it all in when you just watch it once.

Do you enjoy the ballet? Do you have a favourite?