Ian McKellen signs up for Spacey's panto dame :: Namibia Internet Gateway cc ::

Articles: Ian McKellen signs up for Spacey's panto dame

Posted by admin on Friday, April 23, 2004 - 06:31 AM

You may be used to seeing him in Oscar winning films such as the Lord of the Rings, but Sir Ian McKellen is set to take a bizarre career route this year and play a pantomime dame on stage.
But the role will be far from low profile - McKellen has agreed to play the role of Widow Twanky in the Old Vic Theatre's production of Aladdin for newly appointed artistic director Kevin Spacey. And the decision to plump for Aladdin apparently follows McKellen's long term interest in the pantomime, Spacey told a news conference. "He has always wanted to play a dame in pantomime," the Oscar winning actor said. "We chose Aladdin because it is the one Ian wanted to do," The show will debut in December, and will be up against competition from pantomimes across the country, featuring ex-soap stars and C list celebrities. It is not the first time, McKellen has been linked to panto. Last year whilst doing interviews for X-Men 2, he expressed a desire to play a dame in the near future and was inundated with offers. Before the pantomime, the first Old Vic season will feature a play by Dutch playwright Maria Goos in September. The pantomime will be followed by more traditional Old Vic material, including a stage production of 1940s Katherine Hepburn vehicle The Philadelphia Story and 1980s US play National Anthems, which has never been performed in Europe. Despite the high profile productions, the press conference was dominated by tabloid speculation regarding Spacey's recent mugging in London. The American Beauty star had sparked rumours within the red tops after having his mobile telephone stolen in a south London park while out walking his dog. Although he had originally told police officers that he was mugged, he withdrew his allegations later that day and admitted he had in fact been the victim of a con, which resulted in the loss of the phone. He also sustained injuries by falling over his dog, whilst chasing the robber.

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