British Universities Film & Video Council

moving image and sound, knowledge and access

Acting Shakespeare with Ian McKellen

Alternative title
Shakespeare Workshop: Acting Shakespeare with Ian McKellen Ian McKellen - Acting Shakespeare
Synopsis
A videorecording of Ian McKellen’s one man show, ‘Acting Shakespeare’. In two parts: 1 (60 min): McKellen talks about his career as a Shakespearean actor and about Shakespeare’s life and writing, interspersing his account with performances of well known speeches from the plays. 2: McKellen analyses a speech from the closing scenes of Macbeth in order to decide how to perform it. Concludes with an anecdote about his experience of playing Henry V. Produced for television by Andrew and David Susskind. Staged by Sean Mathias and re-directed for television by Kirk Browning.
Language
English
Country
Great Britain
Medium
Television; Video
Technical information
Colour / Sound
Year of release
1982
Recording date
Dec 1981
Transmission details
26 Apr 1982
Duration
90 mins

Credits

Director
Kirk Browning
Producer
Andrew Susskind; David Susskind
Cast
Ian McKellen 

Additional Details

Production type
Documentary/Educational/News
Plays
Henry V; Macbeth
Subjects
Drama; Shakespeare
Keywords
acting techniques; Shakespeare, William (1564-1616); One-Person shows

Notes

Notes
A sound recording of McKellen’s one-man show is held by the British Library Sound Archive. The script is available at http://www.mckellen.com/stage/awa/script/index.htm
DVD released in the US on 12/1/2010 (region 1 only) and includes a booklet with liner notes written by McKellen
History
Broadcast on PBS 26 April 1982. The show opened at the Edinburgh Frine Festival in 1977 and has since toured nternationally.
Documentation
Accompanying teacher’s pack.
Uses
Secondary drama.
Reviews
Frank Rich, ‘McKellen and Shakespeare’. New York Times (20 January 1984).

Sponsor

Name

IBM

Archive

Name

Shakespeare Institute Library

Email
silib@bham.ac.uk
Web
http://www.is.bham.ac.uk/shakespeare External site opens in new window
Phone
01789 293384
Fax
01879 292021
Address
Church Street
Stratford-upon-Avon
CV37 6HP

Distributor

Name

E1 Entertainment US

Email
VideoSales@kochent.com
Web
http://www.kochvision.com External site opens in new window
Phone
+1 516 484 1000
Address
22 Harbor Park Drive
Port Washington
NY 11050
USA
Notes
Previously known as Koch Vision.

Distributor (Sale)

Name

amazon.com

Web
http://www.amazon.com External site opens in new window
Name

Facets Multi-media Inc.

Email
sales@facets.org
Web
http://www.facetsdvd.com/ External site opens in new window
Phone
+1 773 281 9045
Fax
+1 773 929 5437
Address
1517 West Fullerton Avenue
Chicago, Illinois
60614
USA
Notes
A pioneering US distributor of over 65,000 international, animated, independent, art, classic, documentary, silent, and experimental films on DVD, some of them exclusive to the Facets label.

Record Stats

This record has been viewed 540 times.