Sir Ian McKellen defends playing 30-year-old Hamlet at the age of 82

As Sir Ian McKellan’s Hamlet enters its final weeks at the Theatre Royal Windsor, the veteran actor has defended the decision to portray the titular character at the age of 82.

Shakespeare’s lead character is thought to be around 30-years-old – deciphered by a quote from the play that reads ‘I have been sexton here, man and boy, thirty years’ – yet the Windsor production of the play is ‘age, gender and colour-blind’.

Sir Ian plays Hamlet 50 years after he first portrayed him as a young man, with Jenny Seagrove, who is 64, portraying his mother Gertrude.

Speaking on This Morning on Wednesday, the Lord Of The Rings star said: ‘It took me a long time to agree to do it. I’m 82. But it’s only acting!’

Defending the decision further, he went on: ‘When my mother was telling me stories when I was going to sleep when I was about four, I never said, “well mummy you can’t be father bear because you’re the wrong gender and you’re not an animal!”

‘It’s only storytelling!’

He also claimed he feels as young as ever, adding: ‘If I feel I’m 20, somehow the spirit comes through. I know more about how to say the lines than I did 50 years ago. I’m a much better actor than I used to be!’

Speaking on This Morning on Wednesday, the Lord Of The Rings star said: ‘It took me a long time to agree to do it. I’m 82. But it’s only acting!’

Sir Ian continued: ‘Fortunately Hamlet is very simple – what could be more simple than To Be Or Not To Be? Words that a four-year-old understands. The expression is so simple, it’s a very available play.’

Sir Ian – who is gay – also insisted ahead of the show’s debut that Hamlet is bisexual.

Scholars have previously pointed out that while Hamlet is romantically involved with Ophelia, their relationship appears strained.

Throwback: The theatre veteran first played the Prince of Denmark in the tragedy 50 years ago

Defending the decision further, he went on: ‘When my mother was telling me stories when I was going to sleep when I was about four, I never said, “well mummy you can’t be father bear because you’re the wrong gender and you’re not an animal!”‘ 

The Prince of Denmark is cruel to her, and she becomes a lightning rod for his anger over Gertrude’s marriage to Claudius – Hamlet’s uncle – while others highlight the fact the pair simply share very little time on stage together. 

Hamlet also appears to have complex relationships with many of the male characters, including Rosencrantz who tells him in the play: ‘You did love me once.’

Similarly, he is extremely close to Horatio, telling him: ‘Since my dear soul was mistress of her choice and could of men distinguish, her election hath seal’d thee for herself… give me that man that is not passion’s slave, and I will wear him in my heart’s core, ay, in my heart of heart, as I do thee.’

Aging years: It is thought Hamlet was meant to be around 30 years old, while speculation over the character’s sexuality has long been rife

Sir Ian told BBC Radio 4’s Front Row earlier this summer: ‘When you come see me you won’t see an old man pretending to be a young man, you’ll see a man pretending to be a prince, pretending to be an intellectual, pretending to be a neurotic, pretending to love his mother, pretending to love girls and boys.

‘You didn’t know that was in Hamlet did you? It’s there, Rosencrantz to Hamlet: “You did love me once”.’

Discussing returning to the role in his 80s, Sir Ian said: ‘I suppose I thought I might be playing Polonius, “No we’d like you to play Hamlet”, said Sean (Mathias, theatre director).

‘There was a pause, I thought that sounds like a bit of a silly idea, and then I thought no if that’s what you want to do, if you want to just say at the beginning of the show: “Here is a group of actors – all sizes, shapes and ages, and colours and ethnicities, and experience – and we’re going to tell the old familiar story, but perhaps not in the old familiar way”, that seemed to me an adventure worth going on.’

The show hasn’t been plain-sailing, however, with the run mired in controversy in July, when two of its leading actors dropped out amid claims of a bitter disagreement.

Veteran performer Steven Berkoff, who was to play Polonius, and rising star Emmanuella Cole, who was to appear as his son Laertes, both left the show ahead of its opening night, in a dramatic off-stage twist.

Ms Cole is said to have complained to cast and crew that 83-year-old Berkoff left her feeling ‘belittled and disrespected’ during rehearsals. 

For his part, Mr Berkoff vehemently denied any wrongdoing or improper behaviour.

Such slings and arrows of outrageous fortune were deeply unfortunate for Sir Ian, as they threatened to overshadow his feted performance as the oldest ever Hamlet on a British stage, in a production that had already been dogged by Covid delays.

Separate sources told how the row left Sir Ian ‘under strain’ and ‘in tears’. 

A friend of Sir Ian told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Ian has been in tears over this. He’s absolutely beside himself that the play has been overshadowed.’

Sir Ian’s long-time friend Frances Barber plays the role of Polonius in another example of the ‘gender-blind’ casting. 

Sir Ian has spoken fondly of Ms Cole, who previously played a psychiatric nurse in EastEnders and has appeared on Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks. In an interview earlier this year he described her as ‘a prize fencer – and she’ll be able to give me some tips. I hope’.

Out: The show hasn’t been plain-sailing, however, with the run mired in controversy in July, when two of its leading actors dropped out amid claims of a bitter disagreement [Emmanuella Cole, pictured, left the production]

The Hamlet cast and crew had to live together in a Covid bubble during rehearsals, which began at the end of 2020, but stopped during the last lockdown before resuming in March. It is understood tensions soon arose, with sources close to the production claiming Ms Cole and Mr Berkoff ‘clashed from day one’.

‘Ms Cole felt her opinions weren’t listened to and that she was given no respect,’ a source said. ‘She felt the cast and creatives paid a lot of respect to Berkoff while she was marginalised. When she made comments about how she saw the production and staging she was over-talked and made to feel like a second-class citizen.’

Mr Berkoff confirmed there had been a complaint and his withdrawal from the production was explained officially as being down to ‘rescheduled professional commitments’.

The theatre management initially told ticket-holders that Ms Cole was off sick and that Mr Berkoff would not be appearing ‘for personal reasons’, and also that he left because an extension of the production to September ‘clashed’ with another of his projects.

Veteran performer: Steven Berkoff, who was to play Polonius, was in the centre of the off-stage drama [pictured in 2015]