Ian McKellen Emerges From Golden Egg To Play Mother Goose

Sir Ian McKellen has played many dramatic roles over the years, but nothing was quite as dramatic as emerging from a giant golden egg on Monday morning to announce his new role as Mother Goose.

On Monday morning, the 83-year-old actor retweeted the news from Variety to promote his role in the pantomime production of "Mother Goose" this Christmas season.

On Monday, October 3, Variety announced that the Tony Award-winning actor will appear in a pantomime production of “Mother Goose” this winter. McKellen announced the news by emerging from a life-size golden egg in Central London. Comedian John Bishop and former “The Great British Baking Show” host Mel Giedroyc were also there to watch McKellen’s dramatic display. They will both be starring in the production as well.

The title role of Mother Goose, known also as Ma, will be played by McKellen. Bishop will play Mother Goose’s husband Vic, known as Pa. The avian couple is running an animal sanctuary inside an abandoned department store at the start of the story. However, according to the logline:

“But when a magical goose (Giedroyc) comes a-knocking, will fame & fortune get the better of them?! Will Ma’s feathers get ruffled? Will Pa tell everyone to get stuffed?! And is their humble life about to turn fowl? Get ready for fairies with hefty vocal chords, puppets with tap dance qualifications and impeckably constructed mayhem that will quack up the whole family.”

The play was written by “Coronation Street” creator Jonathan Harvey and directed by “Inside No. 9” showrunner Cal McCrystal. The production will debut at the Theatre Royal Brighton at the start of December and later move to the West End before taking the show on the road for a four-month tour around the U.K.

Although McKellen is best known for his role as Gandalf in the original “Lord of the Rings” trilogy and Magneto in the “X-Men” film franchise, he is no stranger to pantomime performance. In December 2004 and December 2006, he had a brief stint playing the Widow Twankey at a pantomime production of “Aladdin.”

On Sunday, October 2, McKellen took to Twitter to share a photo of a giant egg. “Hatching a plan. I'll tell you about it tomorrow,” he teased one day before the news was announced.

Only a few days before the announcement of his “Mother Goose” casting, on Friday, September 30, Playbill reported that a 300-seat theatre in Edinburgh will be named for the Oliver-winning actor.

The naming of the Ian McKellen Theatre at Saint Stephens followers his recent version of “Hamlet,” at the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe. Over 13,000 theatergoers showed up to support the actor as he took on a dance version of the classic Shakespeare play. McKellen performed Hamlet’s soliloquies and lengthy monologues, sharing the role with dancer John Christensen, who took on some of the most physical parts of the role.

Peter Schaufuss, who had directed and choreographed the play, released a statement regarding the theatre renaming, saying, “Since the Fringe ended we have created a second 300-seat theatre underneath the Ashton Hall, at St. Stephens, and I am delighted to announce that Ian has accepted our offer to name the venue in his honor—The Ian McKellen Theatre at Saint Stephen's."

McKellen also made a statement accepting the honor, saying, “Peter Schaufuss’ unique contribution to Edinburgh’s cultural life, during and beyond the annual festival, is now enhanced by his new theatre at St. Stephen's. I am honored that it will bear my name.”

In 2007, McKellen had been appointed a Companion of Honour for his services to Drama and Equality in recognition of his activism for the LGBTQIA+ community.

The British actor will not be the only one who will be performing in the U.K. later this year. "Star Trek" alum George Takei announced that he will be taking his legacy project, "Allegiance," overseas for a limited 13-week run that will wrap up in April 2023. Those interested can find out more details about that production by clicking here.