Sir Ian McKellen, 81, to star as Hamlet in ‘age-blind’ production

Sir Ian McKellen is to reprise the role of Hamlet, more than 50 years after he first starred as Shakespeare’s young prince.

The 81-year-old actor has been announced as the lead in an age-blind production at Theatre Royal Windsor.

While theatres are not yet able to host live productions, as set out by the latest government guidelines for coronavirus restrictions, rehearsals for the play are to start next week. 

‘I feel lucky to be working again, thanks to Bill Kenwright’s inspiring optimism and Sean Mathias’s invitation to re-examine Hamlet, 50 years on from my first go,’ Sir Ian says.

‘So now we will meet again. Don’t know when, but do know where – Theatre Royal Windsor!’

The play is produced by Bill Kenwright and directed by Sean Mathias as his first production in his inaugural season in charge of Theatre Royal Windsor.

Mathias and the actor have worked together numerous times and were partners for 10 years in the 1980s.

Mathias said it was encouraging that they could at least begin work on the play, even though they do not have a performance date.

‘We walk a tightrope through the forest whilst we await news of when we may actually perform in front of a live audience, but it will be invigorating to leave the house and get into a rehearsal room and be a part of British theatre returning to the boards,’ he said. 

Rehearsals will begin on Monday with strict measures in place including distancing and PPE where necessary. 

Producer Bill Kenwright, who is also the chairman of Everton football club, reflected that he has drawn on the lessons learned in the return of sport when planning the production.

‘A lot of planning, a great deal of determination – and, I must admit, some of the things I learnt prior to the return of football – have got us to the place where all things theatrical start,’ he said.

‘Nothing is more important than this country’s and indeed the world’s health and safety, so we are not ready to announce an opening night yet – but I’m a great believer in making a start if a start is possible, and in this instance it is.’

Sir Ian first played Hamlet 50 years ago in a 1971 production directed by Robert Chetwyn for the Prospect Theatre Company, with the role traditionally played by younger actors.

Shakespeare’s text suggests the Prince of Denmark is 30, as referenced in the gravedigger scene, but the characteristics of the prince have led some scholars to debate that that he is actually a teenager. 

The show is one of the first major new theatre productions to start rehearsals in the UK since auditoriums went dark in March.  

Claire Foy and Matt Smith have also returned to the theatre this week to rehearse for the play Lungs, reprising their roles from last year’s sell-out production.

The Crown actors star in the reworked version of the play which will be streamed live from today. 

The auditorium will remain empty, and physically close scenes have been reworked to observe social distancing.

The production is part of Old Vic: In Camera, which also includes a series of rehearsed play-readings streamed live.

As set out in new guidelines this week, theatres can reopen from July 4 but they are not allowed to stage live performances for live audiences.

Screenings may be shown instead, and one-metre social distancing must be in place.

Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden has also encouraged theatres to hold outdoor performances with socially distanced spectators as part of a new plan for the return of live performances.  

Sir Ian’s friend Dame Judi Dench warned this week that Britain’s theatres may never reopen in her lifetime as entertainment venues face permanent closure after lockdown. 

The 85-year-old actress said she ‘can’t imagine Britain without its arts heritage’ as theatres across the UK face an ‘existential risk’ of closure. 

Her intervention comes as theatre bosses have warned of a ‘catastrophic collapse’ in the industry if severe restrictions are kept in place after lockdown. 

In a letter to The Times this week, Britain’s 85 leading performing arts organisations including the National Theatre said the Government needs to provide ‘immediate and substantial’ financial support to give theatres any hope of survival. 

Speaking with Cathy Newman on Channel 4 News, Dame Judi said: ‘I think that what is so strange is that we imagine that this is a temporary thing – this is happening just now and when the pandemic passes it’s all going to go back to normal.

‘It will, maybe, for some people – it certainly won’t for all of us in the theatre.’

She said: ‘I do think that (the theatres face permanent closure) because if the theatres now close, become dark, I don’t know when we’re going to get them back. 

‘You can’t run a theatre, for instance, with people sitting six seats apart. You can’t run a theatre if it’s a quarter full, no. 

‘It doesn’t just affect the public, it affects all of us – not just actors, but the crew and the people who make wigs, the people who dress us, the stage doormen, the lighting – every single person, the people in the box office – everyone’s affected by it, and none of us have any security or knowledge to know when it will come back.

‘When you hear that the (Old) Vic is in trouble, and you hear the Nuffield in Southampton is in trouble, and Leicester and Nottingham and Southport – this is what we rely on, and it’s a desperate feeling.