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Ages 14+. Please note: Children under the age of 3 will not be admitted. Children under the age of 16 must be accompanied by and sat next to a ticketholder who is at least 18 years old. 

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Player Kings - LON [37071]

Genre: Play

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Player Kings

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Production image of Player Kings in London starring Ian McKellen as Falstaff

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Production image of Player Kings in London starring ensemble cast.

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Production image of Player Kings in London starring Richard Coyle as Henry.

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Production image of Player Kings in London starring ensemble staff.

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Production image of Player Kings in London.

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Ian McKellen - 'one of the world's greatest actors' (Times) - plays Falstaff in a new version of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, adapted by the award-winning writer and director Robert Icke.

Sir Ian McKellen was born in Burnley&nbsp;in 1939. He was drawn to the theatre from the age of three&nbsp;following a trip to Manchester's Opera House to see Peter Pan. At the age of 18 he attended St Catherine's College in Cambridge where he became a member of the Marlowe Society. His contemporaries&nbsp;included Trevor Nunn and <a href="/actor-profile/derek-jacobi">Derek Jacobi.</a>

After a period working in repertory theatres around the UK, he became a member of Laurence Olivier’s <a href="/theatres/national-theatre">National Theatre</a> Company in 1965. McKellen performed frequently in the Royal Shakespeare Company during the 1970s and&nbsp;1980s, taking leading roles in Macbeth in 1976 alongside Judi Dench.

Outside of his theatrical work he is probably most recognised for his roles as Gandalf the Grey/White in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings Trilogy and Hobbit Trilogy,&nbsp;and as Erik Lehnsherr / Magneto in the X-Men franchise.

2007 marked a return to the RSC and to working wth Trevor Nunn appearing in productions of The Seagulland King Lear, both shows had a residency at the <a href="/theatres/gillian-lynne-theatre">Gillian Lynne Theatre</a>. In 2009, he appeared in Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot alongside his X-Men co-star Patrick Stewart at the <a href="/theatres/theatre-royal-haymarket">Theatre Royal Haymarket</a>. They would go on to reprise their roles on Broadway in Godot in 2013, the production running in rep with *No Man's Land* by Harold Pinter. &nbsp;

In September 2016, he and Stewart once again re-united on the West End Stage at the <a href="/theatres/wyndhams-theatre">Wyndhams Theatre</a> in No Man's Land. A year later,&nbsp;McKellen provided&nbsp;the voice of The Demon in the West End premiere of <a href="/show/the-exorcist">The Exorcist</a>.&nbsp;

In summer 2018, Ian McKellen played&nbsp;<a href="/show/king-lear">King Lear</a> in a transfer of Jonathan Munby’s Chichester Festival Theatre. McKellen played the role in Chichester, and told the press it was likely to be his ‘last big Shakespearean part’.&nbsp;King Lear&nbsp;transferred to the&nbsp;<a href="/theatres/duke-of-yorks-theatre">Duke of York’s Theatre</a>. For his 80th birthday, he gave a <a href="/show/ian-mckellen-on-stage">nationwide tour filled with stories, anecdotes and monologues</a>, including a three month run at the <a href="/theatres/harold-pinter-theatre">Harold Pinter Theatre.</a>&nbsp;

Ian McKellen - LON

Ian McKellen On Stage In London [17060]

Ian McKellen On Stage In London

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An unadulterated love letter to the theatre, to the actor's life and the prose and poetry that fuel both, <a href="/actor-profile/ian-mckellen">Ian McKellen</a>'s latest one-man show is a thing of sheer joy and utter wonder: an act of selfless generosity and warmth in every regard.There is, of course, an ever-present danger in any one-person show that it could become an act of self-regard, and it is unquestionably true that McKellen, too, has a lot to be proud of, so he could be forgiven for indulging those qualities. But though false modesty is not one of his vices, this show is also an act of humility, humanity and gratitude; he is a vessel for the words of others - particularly his beloved William Shakespeare - that he communicates with spellbinding intensity and hushed intimacy.It is also his birthday gift to himself - and to the nation. The show was born as a public charity celebration of his 80th birthday, visiting some 80 theatres across London and the rest of the country, many of which he had a long and personal connection to, and allowing each theatre to designate the beneficiaries of the proceeds raised in each place.Now he has brought it to the West End for a further fundraising run of 80 more performances, just as he did when he previously brought a show called Acting Shakespeare to the <a href="/theatres/playhouse-theatre">Playhouse Theatre</a> in 1987 to benefit the London Lighthouse, a west London hospice for those affected by HIV and AIDS. &nbsp;The show is effortlessly structured in two distinct but well-honed acts. He begins with Gandalf - the role that made him internationally celebrated in the film versions of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings&nbsp;- and it includes a nod to his celebrity status when he invites an audience member on stage for a selfie with his Gandalf sword and autographed programme.But he is also regularly accessible, wandering the stalls in the interval and greeting exiting theatregoers in the foyer afterwards (where he holds a collection bucket for further donations that will benefit some ten charities working with a cross-section of people involved with the arts). &nbsp;The first act also contains much&nbsp;personal biography - we learn, for example, that long before he decided to become an actor he contemplated a career in hotel management, and also toyed with becoming a chef or journalist, but we also find out how the theatrical seed was planted young, when he saw a performance of Peter Pan at the age of three in his native Wigan, before his family relocated to Bolton which was a thriving theatrical hub with three theatres.We also learn of how a speech from Henry V secured him a scholarship at Cambridge, and how appearing in 21 undergraduate productions there set him on his way to becoming an actor, which he began doing professionally in fortnightly rep at the then-new Belgrade Coventry Theatre, earning £8 and 10 shillings a week to play as cast in plays by Shaw, Shakespeare and Agatha Christie, amongst others.&nbsp; &nbsp;It is poignant and revelatory to hear his anecdotes about this now vanished age: an oral history that needs to be preserved. We also hear of his official coming out as gay at the age of 47, on a radio programme that was pre-recorded with a right-wing newspaper editor Peregrine Worsthorne and his hurried trip back home to tell his beloved stepmother Gladys the news before she heard it publicly. (Though, of course, she had long known this). There's a delightful preview of Gus - the Theatre Cat that he will play in the forthcoming film version of TS Eliot and Andrew Lloyd Webber's Cats, plus poetry from Gerard Manley Hopkins and others.But it is in the second act that McKellen really comes into his own, with a celebration of all 37 plays of William Shakespeare (though he admits he has nothing at all to say about Troilus and Cressida); acting scenes from many of them, and offering a rich treasure trove of anecdotes about other productions in which he did not appear (there's a truly priceless Gielgud story about the veteran actor Alan Badel).McKellen is a consummate stage actor, able to speak directly and intimately to every single person listening to his rapt delivery of this rich language.I've been privileged to see McKellen for some 40 years on stage; the first time I ever saw him on stage was in the original production of Martin Sherman's Bent at the <a href="/theatres/royal-court-theatre">Royal Court</a> in 1979. As a young gay man, it changed my life, offering a highly charged perspective on a chapter of gay history I knew nothing about. I am forever grateful to McKellen for his part in this; but I am now forever grateful, too, for the opportunity to share this remarkable journey through his life and career.<a href="/show/ian-mckellen-on-stage">Ian McKellen on Stage</a> is at the <a href="/theatres/harold-pinter-theatre">Harold Pinter Theatre</a> until 5th January 2020.&nbsp;<a href="/show/ian-mckellen-on-stage">Ian McKellen on Stage:&nbsp;With Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and You tickets</a> are available now.&nbsp;&nbsp;Photo credit:&nbsp;Frederic Aranda

Review - Ian McKellen on Stage at the Harold Pinter Theatre

The Harold Pinter Theatre opened on 15 Oct. 1881 as a comic opera house. Its name on opening was the Royal Comedy Theatre, though its ‘Royal’ epithet was dropped in 1884.

The Comedy Theatre helped establish the New Watergate Club in 1956, a society which helped overturn the stage censorship enforced by the Lord Chamberlain’s Office. The formation of the Club meant that the plays banned by the Government could be performed at this venue as it was now being run as a private club rather than a commercial entity. Notable plays in this category include Arthur Miller’s *A View from the Bridge* and Tennessee Williams’ *Cat On A Hot Tin Roof*. The censorship was finally overturned in 1968. 

Harold Pinter's works were often performed here: *The Homecoming*, *The Caretaker*, *Moonlight*, *No-Man’s Land* and *The Hothouse* all enjoyed successful runs, and Pinter directed a production of *The Old Masters* here in 2004. After his death, it was thought fitting to bestow the honour of naming a theatre after him, and the name was officially changed on 13 Oct. 2011 to the Harold Pinter Theatre. The Ambassador Theatre Group own the Harold Pinter Theatre.

## Harold Pinter Theatre Seating Information

The auditorium has four levels – Stalls, Dress Circle, Royal Circle and Balcony. The top three levels are a horseshoe shape around the stalls.

The Stalls is a single block of seats, and offers good sightlines. Some seats are impaired by supportive pillars and the overhang of the Dress Circle.

The Dress Circle doesn’t offer a great raking in the seating, but the view is not affected by the overhang of the Royal Circle. 

The Royal Circle seats curve towards the stage more noticeably than the Dress Circle.

The Balcony feels very high in this theatre.

Harold Pinter Theatre - LON

Harold Pinter Theatre

King Lear - LON [24522]

King Lear

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Kenneth Branagh will direct and play the title role for 50 performances only at Wyndham’s Theatre from 21 October.

The Wyndham’s Theatre opened on 16 Nov. 1899. The theatre was commissioned by Charles Wyndham who also managed the [Criterion Theatre.](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/criterion-theatre) 

The Wyndham’s welcomed its first long-running production – Sandy Wilson’s musical *The Boyfriend* which opened on 14 Jan. 1959 and ran for over 2,000 performances. Another successful musical came to the theatre in 1972, the Roundhouse’s production of Stephen Schwartz’s *Godspell*, which ran for three years. The theatre has seen many notable actors grace the stage, including Alec Guinness, [Vanessa Redgrave](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/vanessa-redgrave), Diana Rigg and Madonna.

In May 2005, the Wyndham’s Theatre was bought by Cameron Mackintosh through his company Delfont Mackintosh Theatres. The theatre was renovated in 2008 and plays regularly run for limited engagements at the Wyndham's Theatre.

## Wyndham's Theatre Seating Information

The auditorium has four levels - Stalls, Royal Circle, Grand Circle and Balcony.

In the Stalls, the front four rows of seating are not raked, but other than that the seats in the Stalls offer excellent views of the stage.

Only the seats in Row G of the Royal Circle are affected by the overhang of the Grand Circle. Seats are well raked, offering great views of the stage.

The Grand Circle is set very high in this theatre.

The Balcony is set behind and above the Grand Circle, so does feel far from the stage, but the view is unobstructed.

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Wyndham's Theatre

The Exorcist [7337]

The Exorcist

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The Phoenix Theatre opened on 24 Sept. 1930. It was built on the site of the Alcazar Music Hall, a performance space that had fallen from grace into a casino.

Noël Coward’s *Private Lives* opened the Phoenix Theatre, starring Noel Coward and Laurence Olivier. On Coward's 70th birthday, the bar in the foyer of the theatre was given the name the Noël Coward Bar in his honour.

The theatre’s greatest success arrived in November 1991 in the form of *Blood Brothers*, Willy Russell’s musical. It ran for 21 years, finally closing on 10 Nov. 2012. The Phoenix Theatre was also home to the West End premiere of *Come From Away.*

## Phoenix Theatre Seating Information

The auditorium has three levels – Stalls, Dress Circle and Grand Circle.

The seats in the Stalls offer very good views of the stage, with a light rake in the seating helping seats further back. 

The view from the Dress Circle is generally very good, though the rake of the seating is not as noticeable as in other theatres. 

The Grand Circle is surprisingly close to the stage, which is great for feeling involved in the show.


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Phoenix Theatre

No Man's Land [2219]

No Man's Land

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Mother Goose - Duke of York's Theatre - LON 

Mother Goose - Duke of York's Theatre

Mother Goose - Duke of York's Theatre - LON  Product Media

Not every theatre actor would continue working into his 80s but here’s [Ian McKellen](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/stars-on-stage/ian-mckellen), who turns 84 in May, returning yet again to the stage at a time in life when many of his colleagues might prefer simply to rest. Not for the screen’s Gandalf and Magneto a further foray into the Shakespeare repertoire (Hamlet, Lear, his Bard-heavy solo show) that has kept him busy of late.

This time round, “Serena” – as the show campily and affectionately renames its internationally renowned star – is donning a variety of body-hugging outfits, outré wigs and the like to play Caroline Goose, aka the bosomy Mother Goose that gives Jonathan Harvey’s buoyant West End panto its title. The show, joyously directed by Cal McCrystal, of *One Man, Two Guvnors* renown, is not to be confused with the concurrent entertainment of the same name at the Hackney Empire and starring Clive Rowe.

The references come thick and fast, from Harry and Meghan to past and present Tory grandees, musical theatre excerpts ranging from *A Chorus Line*'s “One” to “Don’t Rain On My Parade”, McKellen’s megawatt grin all the while powering an altogether giddy evening: the actor looks as if he’s having the time of his life and the expert ensemble around him gleefully, on occasion recklessly follow his lead: Oscar Conlon-Morrey’s sweet Jack – here given his own Jill – shares in some untamed tongue action that has to be seen to be believed.

Presiding over an animal sanctuary that was once a Debenhams department store, this Mother Goose isn’t the fairy tale figure of panto lore but a fame-seeking comic ringleader. Wife to John Bishop’s entirely adorable Vic Goose (“I love this man,” McKellen says in passing of his stage spouse), the eponymous waterfowl indulges innuendo about “greasing the bottom” and “raw materials” and meta-reflections on becoming a “mega-global superstar”. 

There’s a nod toward political rebellion in a plot strand involving non-payment to the utilities that are making this winter a challenge for so many. We’re urged to jeer “the energy company” every time that phrase is spoken, and the show’s Boris Johnson out-snouts, to coin a verb, Peppa the Pig. 

The script reminds us of McKellen’s own origins, age 8, discovering panto at the Grand Theatre in his native Lancashire town of Bolton. But it also whooshes into the here and now to accommodate COVID-era super-spreader events – and droll aspersions in the direction of the Palladium offering across town just now with Julian Clary. That *Jack and the Beanstalk* is Goose’s main rival in this year’s celebrity-panto sweepstakes.

I’ve seen McKellen tread similar terrain before, as the Widow Twankey in the Old Vic’s Aladdin nearly 20 years ago. But his game participation on that occasion didn’t prepare me for the breadth of double entendres this time out (a deadpan mention, for instance, of “tossing in my sleep”) or his ability to still the house with Portia’s “quality of mercy” speech from *The Merchant of Venice*; we soon find that Bishop, a long-established staple of the comedy circuit, can navigate his way just fine through Shakespearean verse, as well. 

Liz Ascroft’s sets and costumes suggest a touring production – the show travels the UK and Ireland into April - that has spent proper money on its visuals. A sumptuous vertical bed allows for beneath-the-duvet hijinks whilst headgear finds Camilla Parker Bowles (Genevieve Nicole, fabulous) struggling to navigate an outsized hat through a too-low doorway. Mama Goose’s post-interval sartorial parade extends to a mop-like tray table atop McKellen’s head that is itself a thing of wonder.

The prevailing good nature grants a change of heart to the resident baddie, Malignia (*X Factor* alumna Karen Mavundukure, in sprightly form). Elsewhere, a clarion-voiced Cilla Quack (yes, you read that right) gets a *Les Mis*-style imprisonment followed soon by the ability of the protean Anna-Jane Casey, playing Cilla, to give us her best Barbra Streisand. Casey, seen this time last year in the ongoing West End revival of *Cabaret*, is once again indispensable. 

The show may feel freeform, even anarchic, but courses with an abiding respect for theatrical tradition:  Peter Pan, we’re informed, premiered at this same theatre in 1904, and Judi Dench and Derek Jacobi are foregrounded every bit as readily as the music of ABBA, Sunset Boulevard, and the World Cup. 

By the time the climactic singalong arrives to the familiar tune of “Sweet Caroline,” the audience is nodding as one to the lyric, “good times never seemed so good”. The world may be a dark and often difficult place, but lucky are we to be transported via Gooseland Airways to a rapture-inducing realm of sheer and total bliss.

*Mother Goose* is at the Duke of York's Theatre through 29 January. Book *Mother Goose* tickets on London Theatre.

[![LT - CTA - 250](//images.ctfassets.net/6pezt69ih962/1t6HRGmhlYl70k6PmR0mOZ/3caac861bc1d4233cd7844652c925623/LT-CTA-250.png)](https://ticket.londontheatre.co.uk/booking/calendar?product_id=26888&content_product_id=26888&venue_id=116)

*Photo credit: Ian McKellen and John Bishop (Photo by Manuel Harlan)*

'Mother Goose' review — Ian McKellen leads a megawatt pantomime for the ages

The Duke Of York’s Theatre opened as the Trafalgar Square Theatre in 1892.The playhouse received its current name three years later in 1895, in honour of the future King George V. 

Famous productions to play at the Duke Of York’s Theatre include David Belasco’s *Madame Butterfly* in 1900 – Puccini was in the audience and famously turned the story into an opera. J. M. Barrie's famous creation *Peter Pan, or The Boy Who Wouldn’t Grow Up* opened at the theatre on 27 Dec. 1904.

Typically, the Duke of York's Theatre is home to short-running plays, with West End and Broadway stars appearing.

## Duke of York's Theatre Seating Information

The auditorium has three levels – Stalls, Royal Circle and Upper Circle.

The Stalls offer good legroom throughout, and the raking of the seats is very good, noticeably from Row D onwards. 

In the Royal Circles, there is no visual obstruction from the Upper Circle. 

The seats in the Upper Circle curve towards the stage. The final two rows of the Upper Circle are bench seats.

Duke of York's Theatre - LON

Duke of York's Theatre

The Noël Coward Theatre opened as the New Theatre on 12 Mar. 1903. In 1973, the theatre’s name was changed from the New Theatre to the Albery Theatre, as a tribute to the theatre’s long-serving manager Sir Bronson Albery. Sir Cameron Mackintosh acquired the theatre through his company, Delfont Mackintosh Theatres, in 2005 and renamed the theatre in memory of the famous playwright, Noel Coward.

The theatre famously played host to two theatre companies whose theatres were destroyed during the Blitz – the [Old Vic](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/old-vic-theatre) and [Sadler’s Wells](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/theatres/sadlers-wells) both performed at the theatre until their new theatres were built in the 1950s. 

The theatre also played host to the premiere of Lionel Bart’s world famous musical *Oliver!* The show was a huge success, running for 2,618 performances.

Several notable actors have appeared in productions at the theatre, including [Judi Dench](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/judi-dench), [Helen Mirren](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/helen-mirren) and [Patrick Stewart](https://www.londontheatre.co.uk/actor-profile/patrick-stewart). 

## Noël Coward Theatre Seating Information

The auditorium has four levels - Stalls, Royal Circle, Grand Circle and Balcony.

The Stalls offers excellent views throughout. The high setting of the stage allows for good views.

The view from the Royal Circle is completely unobstructed and the seating is well raked.

The Grand Circle is set fairly high, but again offers unobstructed views of the stage. 

Whilst the Balcony is high, the seats are well raked and comfortable with a good amount of legroom.

Noël Coward Theatre - LON

Noël Coward Theatre

Read all about Ian McKellen (Lord of the Rings, X-Men) and his performances on the West End stage at LondonTheatre.co.uk

Day of week	Matinee	Evening
Monday	-	6:30 PM
Tuesday	-	6:30 PM
Wednesday	2:30 PM	-
Thursday	-	6:30 PM
Friday	-	6:30 PM
Saturday	2:30 PM	-
Sunday	-	-

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