Lord of the Rings star to act in Cape Town playJul 28, 2010
Sir Ian McKellen. Photo courtesy lewishamdreamer
Lord of the Rings star, Sir Ian McKellen, will play the lead role in Waiting for Godot at the Fugard Theatre in Cape Town. Preview performances start on Thursday, July 29 and show dates are from July 31 until August 14.
Best known for his role as Gandalf in Lord of the Rings and Magneto in the X-Men films, McKellen is in fact a cherished stage actor, who received knighthood in 1991 for his contribution to British theatre. He has also received two Academy Award nominations and shared the screen with stars such as Will Smith and Tom Hanks.
The 71-year-old has been a prominent gay rights activist for the past two decades and was in fact involved in the first post-apartheid gay march in South Africa.
Writing on Twitter this week, McKellen wrote: “Cape Town in winter sun is as beautiful as ever.” He posted a photograph of the view from his bedroom window, which looks out at Table Mountain.
Sean Mathias, who is directing Waiting for Godot, told Times LIVE that Cape Town was his first-choice city to host the show. “We had been asked to go to Los Angeles, Broadway, Toronto, various theatres in Europe, the Moscow Art Theatre and some of those offers were more complicated. Others were firm but we didn’t want to take them,” he said.
Tickets to see Waiting for Godot are R250, but, from next week, students and pensioners can get tickets for R150 for performances on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
Theatre is a great source of winter entertainment in Cape Town. See our winter page to read more about why Cape Town winters are cool.
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