''Acting Shakespeare'' is a

one-man show A solo performance, sometimes referred to as a one-man show, one-woman show, or one-person show, features a single person telling a story for an audience, typically for the purpose of entertainment. This type of performance comes in many varieti ...

Shakespearean William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

monologue In theatre, a monologue (also known as monolog in North American English) (in , from μόνος ''mónos'', "alone, solitary" and λόγος ''lógos'', "speech") is a speech presented by a single character, most often to express their thoughts ...

s interspersed with theatrical anecdotes devised and performed by

Ian McKellen Sir Ian Murray McKellen (born 25 May 1939) is an English actor. He has played roles on the screen and stage in genres ranging from Shakespearean dramas and modern theatre to popular fantasy and science fiction. He is regarded as a British cu ...

. McKellen first performed the recital in

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

in 1980 and later performed it throughout the world. It was broadcast by

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

in 1982. For the 1984

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street ** Broadway Theatre (53rd Stre ...

engagement, McKellen received the

Drama Desk Award for Outstanding One-Person Show Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has been c ...

and a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ce ...

nomination. He received internationally rave reviews with some calling him "The new Olivier" and "The greatest classical actor of our generation". The most recent performance was in

Jersey Opera House The Jersey Opera House is a working theatre and opera house in La Vingtaine de la Ville, Saint Helier, Jersey, Channel Islands. The theatre building is administered by the States of Jersey but is managed by Jersey Opera House Limited. The curre ...

in 1990, until its revival in 2022 by the Irvington Shakespeare Company. In 1993 McKellen developed another version of this one-man show, ''A Knight Out'' (using the play on word as a result of his being knighted in 1991) but this time focusing, as well as on stage roles, on his now ever-increasing film roles. As with ''Acting Shakespeare'', he toured around England, Europe and America to great acclaim. A predecessor of this show's format was

John Gielgud Sir Arthur John Gielgud ( ; 14 April 1904 – 21 May 2000) was an English actor and theatre director whose career spanned eight decades. With Ralph Richardson and Laurence Olivier, he was one of the trinity of actors who dominated the Britis ...

's '' The Ages of Man'', which consisted of Gielgud in front of an audience with a mixture of both speeches and anecdotes. In 2022, actor Kamran Saliani and the Irvington Shakespeare Company were granted special permission from Sir Ian McKellen to revive the show in the Lower Hudson Valley region of New York, in a co-production with the Irvington Theater.

References

External links

* * 1980 plays British plays Drama Desk Award–winning plays Monodrama Plays and musicals based on works by William Shakespeare Plays for one performer {{1980s-play-stub