Shakespeare on ICE
Words are our most powerful weapons
The other night Sir Ian McKellen appeared on “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert” to promote his appearance in “An Ark,” currently on view at The Shed. It sounds interesting — “mixed reality” with the actors not actually present, but with every appearance of a live performance. Still, I’ll pass.
Colbert also chatted with Sir Ian about the Lord of the Rings movies (“Stephen, do you read it every year?” “Every year would be a bit light!”) and about the new LoTR feature about to begin production. But the real highlight came at the end of the interview when McKellen performed a soliloquy from “Sir Thomas More” attributed to Shakespeare.
The soliloquy speaks directly to this moment in American history. Find it in the extended interview linked below, beginning at timecode 22:15; but really, it’s worth watching the full interview.
Thank you, Sir Ian. We should all be so capable at 86 — and would we had half your pathos, and your empathy.