News: Ian McKellen’s solo show to be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video

Sir Ian McKellen’s donation to British theatre has now topped £5 million.

Set to be streamed in a partnership with the National Theatre and Amazon Prime Video, McKellen, ATG Productions and Sean Mathias have teamed up to donate the profits of his solo show to a fund for emerging producers and to cover actors’ salaries.

Ian McKellen On Stage will be broadcast across the UK and Ireland from today, where it was filmed by National Theatre Live in front of an audience at the Harold Pinter Theatre in January 2020.

It will launch exclusively on Prime Video for customers across UK and Ireland as part of a season of plays with the National Theatre.

Profits from licensing the broadcast of Ian McKellen on Stage, will combine with remaining profits from the West End run of the show and create a new fund to support emerging producers and artists.

Distributed by ATG Productions, multiple funding rounds will offer grants of up to £25,000 to pay actors’ wages for both new plays and revivals across UK theatres, as long as they employ 6 actors or more and include a recent graduate from a theatre training school.

Ian McKellen devised his solo show to celebrate his 80th birthday, earning £3 million for over 80 UK theatres.

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