THE CUT

A new play by Mark Ravenhill

Directed by Michael Grandage

Ian McKellen in the role of "Paul"

23 February - 1 April 2006
The Donmar Warehouse
London

4-9 April 2006
The Lowry
Salford Quays

11-16 April
Bristol Old Vic

18-23 April
Liverpool Playhouse

Winner
M.E.N. Theatre Awards:
Best Visiting Production
Best Actor in a Visiting Production

Jimmy Akingbola
Emma Beattie
Tom Burke
Deborah Findlay
Ian McKellen


Jimmy Akingbola and
Ian McKellen


Photo: Robert Workman
 

Paul (Ian McKellen) is an ordinary man with a shocking secret. At home, he is a loving husband and father. At work, he administers the cut. In a society sickened by his profession, Paul struggles with his conscience and longs to tell the truth.  

Ian McKellen last appeared at The Donmar in 1978 in Macbeth and A Miserable and Lonely Death.


Photo: Robert Workman

 


Deborah Findlay and Ian McKellen
Photo by Tristram Kenton


Photo: Alastair Muir


Photo: Tristram Kenton

 

Reviews

"A visceral portrait of dystopia both grips and mystifies"
— Michael Portillo, New Statesman

"McKellen excels as an Orwellian state torturer" —Paul Taylor, The Independent

"Nobody can be inwardly and outwardly ravaged like Sir Ian"
— Benedict Nightingale, The Times

"A masterly performance by Ian McKellen" — Michael Billington, The Guardian

"McKellen is often riveting as the troubled Government operative, switching from urbanity to anger, and from the mundane to the lachrymose, in the blink of an eye."
— Charles Spencer, The Telegraph

"McKellen spends 99% of the play’s 90 minutes on stage, expressing Paul’s inward and outward turmoil, and proving why he is so highly regarded as a stage performer."
— Matthew Amer, London Theatre Guide

"Ian McKellen cuts a watchably creepy figure . . . makes the flesh crawl"
— Matt Wolf, Bloomberg

 

Feature Articles

The Telegraph

Next Play: A KNIGHT OUT IN LOS ANGELES