Entertainment

King Lear tickets for a fiver in bid for younger theatre audiences

Sir Ian McKellen will star in the West End production for its limited run.
Sir Ian McKellen will star in the West End production for its limited run. Sir Ian McKellen will star in the West End production for its limited run.

Theatre fans aged 16 to 25 will be able to buy tickets to see Sir Ian McKellen star in Shakespeare’s tragedy King Lear in the West End for £5.

The production at London’s Duke of York’s Theatre has been incorporated into the Prologue scheme run by Chichester Festival Theatre, which seeks to grow a younger theatre audience.

The limited number of reduced price tickets will be available on the day of a performance and in person from the Duke of York’s box office.

The Jonathan Munby-directed production will run for 100 performances from July to November, following a sold-out season at Chichester Festival Theatre last year.

Sinead Cusack, Danny Webb and Kirsty Bushell are also in the cast.

During its run in the West End, King Lear will also be broadcast live to cinemas across the UK and internationally on Thursday September 27 with National Theatre Live.

Lord Of The Rings star McKellen, 79, is returning to the theatre where he made his West End debut, in a 1964 production of A Scent Of Flowers.

In February he wrote on Twitter: “King Lear again: 100 performances at Duke of York’s in London where I made my West End debut 1964.

“It’s a small theatre but we shall make it even more intimate by removing half the stalls seats.”

King Lear opens at the Duke Of York’s Theatre on July 11.