Words from Ian McKellen

Most years at Bolton Little Theatre, one of the more accomplished actors, Alan Cullen, wrote a new children's play for the end-of-year production. He eventually, with encouragement from me, left Bolton to become a professional actor, but with little success. 'The Story of Rahman' had me with my arms folded, with only an occasional line but much walking on and off stage as unobtrusively as possible.

John Wardle (the Sage) was drama critic of the Bolton Evening News. His son, Irving, had played Hamlet at Bolton School and after Oxford became senior drama critic for the London Times newspaper. — Ian McKellen, December 2006