Sir Ian McKellen brings solo 80-date tour to mark his 80th birthday to Sheffield

The tour begins in January 2019 in London, then the Lord of the Rings actor will visit theatres large and small with which he has personal connections, including amateur groups he knew as a child and notable playhouses he has played in as a professional actor over the last half-century.

Ian McKellen On Stage will visit Crucible Theatre on Monday, June 3.

Accessibly priced tickets will be available everywhere. All profits will benefit specific causes at each theatre. His intimate show is a mixture of anecdote and acting, including Tolkien, Shakespeare and audience participation.

Sir Ian said: “I’m celebrating my 80th birthday by touring a new solo show to theatres I know well and a few that I don’t. 

“The show starts with Gandalf and will probably end with an invitation to act with me on stage. 

“In-between there will be anecdotes and acting. I open at my local arts centre in January and end up by August in Orkney.

“Live theatre has always been thrilling to me, as an actor and in the audience. Growing up in Lancashire, I was grateful to those companies who toured beyond London and I’ve always enjoyed repaying that debt by touring up and down the country myself, with the National Theatre, Royal Shakespeare Company, Prospect Theatre, the Actors’ Company, as well as with commercial productions.”

He added: “I shall always be proud that, with Edward Petherbridge, I was in the first play ever at the Crucible in 1971. Chekov’s ‘Swansong’ was part of the concert which opened the now iconic open stage. I’ve since presented a previous solo show here (at the Crucible) and was most recently in Sheffield at the Lyceum, with Patrick Stewart in Pinter’s ‘No Man’s Land.”

For more informaiton visit www.ianonstage.co.uk.