Ian McKellen Stage
<I>Posing outside the Great Hall. Out of shot, some seniors from the Girls’ Division giggled at me but I felt confident in the hired chainmail and the papier-mache helmet, stuffed with the Bolton Evening News to keep it secure.</I> — Ian McKellen, December 2006
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HENRY V (1957)

Written by William Shakespeare
Directed by Frank Greene
Ian McKellen in the role of King Henry V
Bolton School
25 March 1957 - 30 March 1957

Words from Ian McKellen

The director, Frank Greene, must have thought that the previous year I’d proved myself worthy of the leading role, Prince Hal now King Henry V.

Harold Kroto (Duke of York): in 1996 he was awarded the Nobel Prize in Chemistry and knighted. Nb www.kroto.info — Ian McKellen, December 2006
Comments and Reviews
"The evening was notable for I. M. McKellen's serious and thoughtful playing of the title role." — Bolton Journal & Guardian, 29 March 1957

"There was, of course, an outstanding performance. Prince Hal and I. M. McKellen seem to have matured together, pari, passu. In the part of Henry, McKellen amply fulfilled our expectations. His conviction and poise, timing, modulation, gesture and demeanour were rarely at fault. If the pointing of some lines appeared odd, let me not cavil: his originality was like a breath of fresh air. Youthfully majestic, he always dominated the stage." -- The Boltonian