Having spent 3 seasons in regional repertory theatre, my self-imposed apprenticeship paid off. I was growing in confidence professionally and had been noticed by the national press during the Nottingham inaugural season. Then the indispensible bit of luck struck. Michael Codron needed a young actor (and I daresay a cheap one) for his latest production in London, a new play, 'A Scent of Flowers' by James Saunders. I was recommended and, without an audition, was hired for my West End debut.
London theatre is a small world and without a break other work followed, beginning with Laurence Olivier's new National Theatre Company at the Old Vic Theatre and followed by some showy parts in plays old and new. Four years after Nottingham, my name had been in lights on Shaftesbury Avenue and I had made an inglorious Broadway debut. — Ian McKellen, October 1999
| Year | Place | Title/Writer | Director/Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1964 |
Duke of York's London |
A SCENT OF FLOWERS
James Saunders |
DIRECTOR: Shirley Butler ROLE: Godfrey Clarence Derwent Award as best supporting actor of the year - 50 pounds sterling from British Actors' Equity |
| 1965 |
National Theatre Old Vic London |
MUCH ADO ABOUT NOTHING (1965)
William Shakespeare |
DIRECTOR: Franco Zeffirelli ROLE: Claudio |
| 1965 |
National Theatre Chichester Festival Bristol; Nottingham; Chichester |
ARMSTRONG'S LAST GOODNIGHT
John Arden |
ROLE: Protestant Evangelist |
| 1965 |
National Theatre Chichester Festival Bristol; Nottingham; Chichester |
TRELAWNEY OF THE "WELLS"
Arthur Wing Pinero |
DIRECTOR: Desmond O'Donovan ROLE: Capt. de Foenix |
| 1965 |
Hampstead Theatre Club and St Martin's London |
A LILY IN LITTLE INDIA
Donald Howarth |
DIRECTOR: Donald Howarth ROLE: Alvin Hanker |
| 1966 |
Royal Court London |
THEIR VERY OWN AND GOLDEN CITY
Arnold Wesker |
DIRECTOR: John Dexter and Bill Gaskill ROLE: Andrew Cobham Plays & Players' Most Promising Actor 1966 |
| 1966 |
Mermaid London |
THE MAN OF DESTINY / O'FLAHERTY VC
Bernard Shaw |
DIRECTOR: Robert Kidd (MOD) / Peter Gill (OFVC) ROLE: Corporal Napoleon/Private O'Flaherty V.C. |
| 1966 |
Oxford Playhouse London |
THE PROMISE (My Poor Marat)
Aleksei Arbuzov, translated by Ariadne Nicolaeff
|
DIRECTOR: Frank Hauser ROLE: Leonidik |
| 1967 |
Oxford Playhouse Company Fortune Theatre London |
THE PROMISE (1967)
Aleksei Arbuzov, translated by Ariadne Nicolaeff
|
DIRECTOR: Frank Hauser ROLE: Leonidik |
| 1967 |
Henry Miller's New York |
THE PROMISE (Broadway)
Aleksei Arbuzov, translated by Ariadne Nicolaeff
|
DIRECTOR: Frank Hauser ROLE: Leonidik |
| 1968 |
Lyric London |
THE WHITE LIARS / BLACK COMEDY
Peter Shaffer
|
ROLE: Tom/Harold Gorringe |
| 1968 |
The Apollo Society Purcell Room, South Bank London |
Art Reflected
mainly English poets and writers of prose |
DIRECTOR: Richard Marquand ROLE: Reader |