Although now 84 years old, Ian McKellen is showing no signs of slowing down. The acting legend, who is currently starring with Roger Allam in Frank & Percy at The Other Place, is now lined up to play the roguish knight Falstaff in a new adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV, after describing the opportunity as "irresistible".
The new play, which will combine parts one (first published in 1596) and two (1600) of Shakespeare's beloved plays, will open next March at the New Wimbledon Theatre followed by Manchester Opera House. It will then transfer to the Noël Coward Theatre in April, where it will enjoy a 12-week run.Player Kings will be directed by Robert Icke, the former associate director at the Almeida Theatre, whose adaptations of Uncle Vanya (2016), Mary Stewart (2016) and The Doctor (2019) won the young director rave reviews and a 2019 Evening Standard Best Director award, while his 2017 Hamlet was described as "career defining" for its star Andrew Scott. The new play has been created using Shakespeare's text, but the famous lines have been rearranged and amalgamated to create a thrilling new script.
