Lord of the Rings star Sir Ian McKellen raises thousands for Theatre Royal Wakefield

Acting legend Sir Ian McKellen has raised over £10,000 for the Theatre Royal Wakefield after appearing in his one-man show there earlier this month.
Sir Ian McKellen raised over 10,000 for Theatre Royal Wakefield with his one-man show. Picture: ROBLING PHOTOGRAPHYSir Ian McKellen raised over 10,000 for Theatre Royal Wakefield with his one-man show. Picture: ROBLING PHOTOGRAPHY
Sir Ian McKellen raised over 10,000 for Theatre Royal Wakefield with his one-man show. Picture: ROBLING PHOTOGRAPHY

The sell-out audience saw Sir Ian in the show Tolkien, Shakespeare, Others and YOU.As part of his UK tour celebrating his 80th birthday, he has been visiting theatres up and down the country, delivering anecdotes and monologues from his favourite Shakespeare plays in efforts to raise money for the venues and the work they deliver.

All proceeds from tickets and souvenir programme sales were donated to support Theatre Royal Wakefield’s work with young people and outreach projects.

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After the show, he also helped collect donations alongside the stewards in the foyer, raising over £900 from post-show bucket collections alone. Along with the programme and ticket sales, this totalled a whopping £10,232.90.Sir Ian, who was spotted dining at the city's Robatary restaurant during his visit, said: "I was last on stage in Wakefield 30 years ago with a previous solo show 'Acting Shakespeare'. I’m now celebrating my 80th birthday with more Shakespeare and it’s good to be back."

The theatre's Head of Development, Sarah Shooter, said: ‘We are overwhelmed by the generosity of Sir Ian and the audience who came to see the show.

"These funds will allow us to continue our work with young people through our Performance Academy and help us to further our reach with our projects for the wider community."

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