Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Hamlet: Ian McKellen says Shakespeare character is bisexual ahead of performance in age-blind production

‘You didn’t know that was in Hamlet, did you?’ actor said

Isobel Lewis
Friday 18 June 2021 15:48 BST
Comments
(Getty Images)
Leer en Español

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Ian McKellen has claimed that Hamlet is bisexual in Shakespeare’s play.

The 80-year-old actor is set to star as the Danish prince in a new age-blind production at Theatre Royal Windsor later this month.

Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Front Row, McKellen spoke about the challenge of playing a character many decades his junior.

“When you come see me you won’t see an old man pretending to be a young man, you’ll see a man pretending to be a prince, pretending to be an intellectual, pretending to be a neurotic, pretending to love his mother, pretending to love girls and boys.”

He continued: “You didn’t know that was in Hamlet did you? It’s there, Rosencrantz to Hamlet, ‘You did love me once.’”

Despite the end of lockdown being delayed for four weeks, McKellen’s production of Hamlet will still open on 21 June with social distancing in place.

In a recent interview, the Lord of the Rings star admitted that he’d struggled during the pandemic knowing that these years would have been some of his last spent performing.

“This year has been very hard,” he said. “I think you’d get the same from Maggie Smith or Judi Dench – the thought of not working is horrifying.

“Because we’re getting to the end of our lives, to be robbed of the last few years of that capability is hard.”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in