Schoolboy Acting
June 1950- June 1958
"My acting began early and continued mostly at school. At Bolton School (1951-58) there were a number of lads who did as much acting as I did and, voracious theatre-goers, also went on the annual camp to Stratford-upon-Avon for the Shakespeare Festival. My best friends, David Hargreaves and Duncan Sculthorpe, and I were stage-struck and could alarm our peers by high-stepping routines across the playground. We all went to Cambridge, where Hargreaves ended up as Professor of Education. Sculthorpe wrote a classic study on aquatic plants. Motives other than acting itself sent me into the theatre."
— Ian McKellen, December 2006
The Plays
| Year | Place | Title/Writer | Director/Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | Wesleyan Hall Wigan | CHILDREN'S DAY | ROLE: Father |
| 1952 | Hopefield Miniature Theatre | TWELFTH NIGHT Extract (1952) | ROLE: Malvolio |
| 1952 | Bolton Little Theatre | SPRING 1600 | ROLE: Jeremy |
| 1952 | Hopefield Miniature Theatre | LES MEURTRES CHEZ LE COIFFEUR | ROLE: Mari de la Dame |
| 1953 | Bolton School Great Hall | FRIAR BACON & FRIAR BUNGAY (1953) | ROLE: Margaret |
| 1953 | Bolton Little Theatre | PARADISE PERPLEXED | ROLE: Ticukapelli |
| 1953 | Bolton Little Theatre | THE HOPEFUL TRAVELLERS | ROLE: Demon |
| 1953 | Bolton Little Theatre | THE WONDER HAT | ROLE: Pierrot |
| 1953 | Hopefield Miniature Theatre | THE BEAUTY CONTEST | ROLE: Rosie |
| 1954 | Bolton School | THE STARS BOW DOWN | ROLE: Asnath, the High Priest's daughter |
| 1954 | Hopefield Miniature Theatre | DOCTOR FAUSTUS (1954) | ROLE: Wagner |
| 1955 | Bolton School | THE STORY OF RAHMAN | ROLE: Attendant |
| 1955 | Bolton School | OTHELLO (1955) | ROLE: Montano |
| 1956 | Bolton School | HENRY IV PART 2 (1956) | ROLE: Prince Hal |
| 1956 | Chorley Old Road Congregational Hall | ESCAPADE | ROLE: L W Daventry |
| 1957 | Bolton School | HENRY V (1957) | ROLE: Henry V |
| 1958 | Bolton School | THE STRONG ARE LONELY | ROLE: Alfonso Fernandez |
| 1958 | Bolton Little Theatre | TWELFTH NIGHT (1958) | ROLE: Sebastian |
| 1958 | Bolton Middle School | MACBETH, ACT V (1958) | DIRECTOR: Ian McKellen ROLE: Producer/Director |
Next:
October 1958 - August 1961
Cambridge University Undergraduate Productions
