View a gallery of photos of Sir Ian's visit.
GCSE Drama students at Bolton School Boys' Division enjoyed a
drama class with a difference when Sir Ian McKellen, an Old Boy of
the School, dropped in on their lesson.
Sir Ian was back in his old school to put his name to the boys'
drama studio. After a brief unveiling of the plaque which
read "McKellen Studio Theatre", Sir Ian gave a talk reminiscing
about his days at Bolton School, which he attended from 1951-58 and
where he was Captain (Head Boy). Sir Ian said: "I remember my
days at school vividly and with great affection. I used to
love going back to school at this time of year. Even now I
think how excited pupils must be as they go back to school.
The school has a great tradition in the liberal arts and I spent a
lot of my time performing drama. All the other boys
would be off playing football or cricket but I did an awful lot of
acting - French plays, Greek plays, short plays - one a term and an
annual production in the Great Hall. The teachers were very
enthusiastic and I learnt that acting was an honourable thing to do
and not just something for oddballs. I performed my first
Shakespeare at Bolton School as Malvolio in Twelfth Night.
I've always acted for the love of it and this first love was
inspired at Hopefield, which was the school's theatre at the time -
an old Edwardian house on Chorley New Road. If this drama
studio has the spirit of Hopefield, then it is a wonderful
asset."
Sir Ian then entered the studio and sat in on a GCSE Drama
lesson, offering his advice as the boys performed a number of
short, wordless sketches highlighting the reserve of the British
public. The students performed admirably and Sir Ian
congratulated them on their work. He then regaled the boys
with a whole host of tips on acting as did his companion for the
day, fellow actor Antony Cotton (who plays Sean Tully in Coronation
Street). The secret of acting is to be as natural and relaxed
as possible and to absorb yourself fully in the character. He
said that when he was a boy of their age he noticed how a lot of
actors came onto stage and immediately grabbed a piece of furniture
to hide behind. He said he had studiously tried to avoid
doing this in his own acting career. Sir Ian explained the
difference between acting on stage and in films, saying: "On film,
you mustn't think too much about what effect you are having - you
should just be in the character. Don't over-present. In
the theatre it is different and you need to be much more aware of
your surroundings - you need to project your voice to the back of
the theatre for one."
Boys were then given the opportunity to ask Sir Ian
questions. Asked what his favourite role had been he said he
tried not to look back too much as the character he is currently
playing "might get jealous." However, he did have fond
memories of playing Macbeth at Stratford and advised the boys to
watch the dvd. Sir Ian thought that acting in films is more
demanding than the theatre as you do not have time to finesse your
lines. With theatre, as in his recent work playing Estragon
in Waiting for Godot, he had 380 performances to round his
character!
In order to "leave something in the air" in the
studio theatre Sir Ian then gave a soliloquy from a play
co-written by Shakespeare called Sir Thomas More. Sir Ian had
played the lead role in the first ever rendition of the play, which
took place at Nottingham Playhouse in 1964. Before leaving
the McKellen Studio Theatre he signed his name on the
wall.
Sir Ian then took lunch in the School's Arts Centre before
holding a discussion with the Literary and Debating Society about
tolerance and homosexuality. Nicholas Fairclough, a Year 12
student, said: "It was a real pleasure to listen to Sir Ian.
He talked about gay rights with great passion and gravitas and the
audience was enthralled. He told us to go out and spread the
message about gay rights throughout the school. He said very
often these days it is up to pupils to educate teachers and parents
on this issue."
The School has a record of producing fine actors and is also
regularly visited by Ralf Little, who returns to play in an Old
Boys' badminton team.