Ian McKellen and RSC for Melbourne
It's been in the wind for months now - that Ian McKellen was heading back to Australia after his Sydney Festival love affair in 2004 with Dance of Death. But the rumour was he'd be at the Sydney Theatre, not the Arts Centre, Melbourne.
So what happened? Will we ever know what happened to stymie Sydney's chances of seeing the man described as "one of the world's greatest living actors" in two roles, back to back, that stretch him to his limits? Probably not. At least, not officially.
So: it's to Melbourne we must go - in midwinter - to experience McKellen in his return to the Royal Shakespeare Company with director Trevor Nunn after close to two decades. McKellen will play King Lear. Not only but also McKellen take the role of Sorin, in The Seagull, alternating with William Gaunt and with Frances Barber playing Arkadina.
The plays will arrive in Melbourne direct from Stratford via Singapore. They open in the UK on March 24 - so you can check out the reviews before committing to airfares, accommodation and tickets that range from $159/$39 (evenings) to $119/$29. (The great man will alternate the role of Sorin with William Gaunt. He's doing the evening performances and Gaunt the matinees.)
This will be McKellen's first Lear title role and, he says, working in the two plays for the RSC is "The job of a lifetime."
Says Trevor Nunn: "I have been looking forward to the fulfilment of the vow Ian McKellen and I made that one day we would do King Lear together."
To rub salt into Sydney's wounds, the RSC blows in to Melbourne to follow Bell Shakespeare Company's first ever production of Othello (June 1-16). With Marion Potts directing and Wayne Blair in the title role, these two companies offer an extraordinary opportunity to see two of the most significant companies and two of the greatest Shakespeare plays.
Says BSC's John Bell: "After working with the RSC and Trevor Nunn in England in the 60s, I am thrilled to reunite with them in a celebration of Shakespeare at the Arts Centre."
Both BSC and RSC seasons are at the State Theatre in the Arts Centre Melbourne; BSC/Othello June 1-16; RSC/King Lear July 28, The Seagull July 31 then alternating to August 5; Ticketmaster.com.au, 1300 136 166.
