SPRING 1600
Written by Emlyn Williams
Directed by Cliff Aspinall
Ian McKellen in the role of Jeremy
Bolton Little Theatre
25 March 1952 - 30 March 1952
Words from Ian McKellen
When the family moved with my father's job, a few miles from Wigan to live in Bolton in 1951, I transferred my theatre-going allegiance from Wigan's amateur Little Theatre to Bolton's, in Hanover Street, near the central marketplace. I saw most of their productions but gave my first performance in Emlyn Williams' romantic comedy about the runaway Ann who, disguised as a boy, arrives in London where she meets Shakespeare and his actors and becomes the first actress on the British stage in the premiere of 'Twelfth Night': cf the Oscar winning 'Shakespeare in Love' half a century later. Michael Sefton was woodwork master at Bolton School, whence he recruited my pal Duncan Sculthorpe and me to play Ann's pages in her first scene. Our dialogue was minimal. — Ian McKellen, December 2006