Ian McKellen’s return to the Coventry stage has raised nearly £14,000 to help the show go on for young people in the city.
The X-Men and Lord Of The Rings favourite headed back to Coventry earlier this month for one-night special Back At The Belgrade.
The show celebrated his 50 year career acting career, which began in Coventry in 1961, and raised £13,800 for the Belgrade Theatre’s work with young people in the local community.
Ian personally collected £1,200 himself when he headed to the foyer following the show with a collection bucket and chatted to members of the audience as they left.
The theatre has been a registered charity since 1963 and all proceeds raised from the event will now go to support the theatre’s work in the local community – including work with young people carried out by the Belgrade Community & Education Company – and staging new, home-produced shows.
Theatre artistic director Hamish Glen said: “We were extremely pleased to welcome Ian McKellen back to the Belgrade to celebrate this milestone in his acting career and incredibly grateful to him for holding the event as a fundraiser in support of the Belgrade Theatre and our work with young people.
“Last year our Community & Education Company provided 518 workshops and nearly 9,000 participation opportunities for young people in the city, many of whom are from disadvantaged or under-represented groups.
“Among other things, the fantastic amount of money raised will help us to continue to offer this life changing programme of work and also help us to continue to create and stage new and interesting plays for our diverse audience.”
Ian McKellen’s first appearance at the Belgrade was in A Man For All Seasons and he uttered his first lines in the show at the exact same time they were spoken 50 years ago.
He also ended his evening of acting memories and highlights by inviting around 100 audience members on stage with him to perform a scene from Shakespeare’s Henry V.
Posted: Fri Sep 23, 2011 1:19 pm