He has played a wizard, a supervillain and the great Shakespearean leads – twice starring as Hamlet, 50 years apart – but Sir Ian McKellen has declared himself ready for another challenge in his ninth decade: a stage musical.
Talking to Mishal Husain on Radio 4’s Today programme on Tuesday, the actor said he had never had a list of parts he wanted to play but he was still working his way through different types of theatre production. “There are a few left – one would be the musical,” he explained. But can he sing, asked Husain. “In the bath, in the shower, in private,” he replied. “I have sung occasionally – I did a pantomime at the Old Vic a few years back.” In that 2004 production of Aladdin he played Widow Twankey and sang “in a fashion” he added. A full-blown musical would be something else. “I can hold a tune but I’m not a proper singer,” he reflected. “I’m available but incompetent.”
