2mo ago

Sir Ian McKellen to open all trans and non-binary production of

metro.co.uk

Sir Ian McKellen to open all trans and non-binary production of iconic play

An exciting moment in queer theatre.

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- Not a play, a rehearsed reading. People sitting around a table reading their scripts. I've never been able to sit through one.
  
  Does the Community one with Pedro Pascal count? Because I'd be 1-for-1 with that: https://youtu.be/V6Q_nlSULio
The Lord of the Rings star, 86
Calling him that is a bit like calling Orson Welles the guy from the Muppet movie.
Good movie btw
- Brian Eno, the guy who made the windows 95 startup sound
- The guy from transformers
From The Pink News
Sir Ian McKellen will open a brand new production of the Shakespeare classic Twelfth Night featuring all trans and non-binary performers.
The Lord of the Rings star, 86, will join in on the one-night only rehearsed reading by the theatre group Trans What You Will in July.
Staged at London’s The Space Theatre, the reading will be broadcast globally via a livestream. All profits are going to the UK-based trans charity, Not A Phase.
The performance will take one of Shakespeare’s most well known and gender-fluid works and reimagine it through a trans lens.
“With mistaken identities, cross-dressing, and declarations of love across shifting gender roles, Twelfth Night has long explored the complexity of identity,” a press release reads.
“This production makes that queerness explicit, reclaiming the story through the lived experiences of trans and nonbinary artists.”
Phoebe Kemp, who is directing, has said: “Twelfth Night already toys with gender and performance, it feels like Shakespeare wrote it for us. This reading is about joy, solidarity and showing what’s possible when trans and nonbinary artists are at the centre of the story.”
The performance, which will take place ahead of London Trans+ Pride, has also been billed as “a joyful act of protest and pleasure activism, celebrating gender diversity at a time when trans representation remains under threat.:
Twelfth Night – A Rehearsed Reading by Trans What You Will is set to take place on 25 July 2025 at The Space Theatre. Tickets to attend in person are available here. Tickets for the livestream are available here. Pay-what-you-can tickets are available.
- Well this is heartwarming! Sir Ian is such a kind and compassionate person.
well, it's a bit traditionalist, but okay
- I assume for a charity event it's better to be safe and thus attract a bigger crowd which may not be there otherwise.
But what will the Harry Potter lady say? She's terrified of trans people you know.
- Oh, unfortunately I am sure we are going to hear what she has to say about this.

11 comments