One Knight Only: Sir Ian McKellen
Attending this benefit performance by Sir Ian McKellen at Chicago Shakespeare Theater was a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Most people know him for his roles as Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings or Magneto in the X-Men movies, but Sir Ian McKellen is internationally regarded as one of the greatest stage and screen actors, having received every major theatrical award in the UK and the US over the past 60 years.
I could not believe that, throughout the entire evening, I was watching one of the greatest Shakespearean actors of my lifetime. I felt incredibly blessed to have spent three hours watching him perform iconic roles from Shakespeare and share about his incredible life journey. I only wish my mom could have been there with me—she would have loved it.
A Night of Monologues & Personal Stories
McKellen opened the evening by stepping onto the stage and delivering a monologue as Gandalf from The Lord of the Rings. He recited his famous lines from the scene in the Mines of Moria, ending with his most iconic line ever: “You shall not pass!” (Thunderous applause!)
He then shared stories about his childhood, growing up with working-class parents in the coal-mining town of Wigan, England, during World War II. It was there that his love for acting and theater was ignited. His town had several theater companies, and acting was a family affair; he, his sister, and his mother all acted in many Shakespearean plays. His first role was Malvolio in Twelfth Night. They would also often travel as a family to see theater, seeing some of the greatest actors perform, such as Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud.
After graduating from Cambridge in 1961, he began his career in theater in earnest, acting with smaller companies before joining the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theater.
Hamlet's Tears
McKellen's first memorable scene was Hamlet's "Hecuba" Soliloquy, where Hamlet expresses self-loathing for not being able to mourn his father and for lacking the courage to seek revenge. McKellen's performance was powerful, showcasing intense emotions of anger and deep sorrow through these words:
"O, what a rogue and peasant slave am I!
Is it not monstrous that this player here,
But in a fiction, in a dream of passion,
Could force his soul so to his own conceit
That from her working all his visage wann’d,
Tears in his eyes, distraction in’s aspect,
A broken voice, and his whole function suiting
With forms to his conceit? and all for nothing!
For Hecuba!......
Why, what an ass am I!
This is most brave, That I, the son of a dear father murder'd,
Prompted to my revenge by heaven and hell,
Must, like a whore, unpack my heart with words,
And fall a-cursing, like a very drab,
A scullion!
-Act II, Scene 2
Richard II: A Transformational Role
He reflected on what he considers his most transformational role: playing the title role of Richard II in 1976 at the Royal Shakespeare Company. Directed by John Barton, McKellen chose to portray Richard II as a gay king, a groundbreaking choice given the laws in place in England at the time that criminalized homosexuality. McKellen's performance is regarded as the defining interpretation of the role.
His portrayal of Richard II had a profound impact on his personal life. Very few people knew that McKellen was gay, and prior to doing this play, saw no reason to be open about it. However, after the performance, he realized he could serve as an inspiration and use his celebrity status to advocate for gay rights. He became committed to raising awareness about these issues, and he fought to decriminalize laws in the UK that discriminated against gay individuals. Additionally, he founded the organization Stonewall, which remains one of the largest LGBTQ+ rights organizations in the UK.
Macbeth: Signifying Something
He ended the night with Macbeth, first making the point that people often complain to him that Shakespeare's language is difficult to understand (when in fact, it's quite the opposite). When people (especially young audiences) tell him they struggle to understand Shakespeare's plays, he recites the line spoken just before Macbeth's famous "Tomorrow" soliloquy:
"The Queen, my lord, is dead." “See?” he said. “It’s incredibly hard to understand!”
He then recited Macbeth's soliloquy:
"Tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player,
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing."
- Act 5, Scene 5
This soliloquy is one of my favorites, and I have seen it performed many times. However, McKellen's performance was particularly moving and insightful, even bringing me to tears. Before delivering the lines, he pointed out that Shakespeare allows Macbeth to do something rarely done—he lets the actor playing Macbeth draw attention to the fact that he is, indeed, an actor.
In the lines Macbeth speaks, he acknowledges that he is just a character in a play, a mortal man portraying a role, and who, like all of us, will eventually die. Shakespeare has Macbeth ask us: What will our lives signify before our brief candle is out?
This was an incredible and inspiring way to end the show. I left the theater feeling incredibly inspired to live as full, joyful, and inspiring a life as McKellen's, and to use my brief time to make a difference in the world like he has, before my "tomorrow and tomorrow and tomorrow" passes me by.