Adrian Noble (artistic director) asked me to return to the Royal Shakespeare Company and I was close to agreeing to live in Stratford-upon-Avon again. But I had been away from home too much of late and so I accepted Peter Hall's counter invitation to act for the first time with the National Theatre on the south bank of the river Thames, two miles from my home in London.
The NT is the only British Theatre founded by an act of Parliament, following a 130-year-long campaign for an institution to match the great European theatre companies which predate it. When Denys Lasdun's design was completed in 1976, its three theatres, Lyttelton (proscenium), Cottesloe (adaptable studio) and Olivier (open stage) were named after the NT's first chairman Oliver Lyttelton, the chairman of the South Bank Board Lord Cottesloe, and artistic director Laurence Olivier.
By then, Peter Hall had replaced Laurence Olivier and guided the NT a little north from its temporary home at the Old Vic for the lavish complex of workshops, rehearsal rooms and offices at the south side of Waterloo Bridge. The policy of playing in repertoire continued.
In 1984, the NT was funded mainly by the Arts Council of Great Britain's government grant, the late Greater London Council and the proceeds from tickets, bookshop and catering. Some would say that the NT's modestly paid employees also made their contribution. Throughout this time my salary, made up from a basic fee plus extra for each performance, never topped 500 pounds sterling.
After three productions, Peter Hall's invitation to head a group of actors within the NT repertoire re-established the partnership with Edward Petherbridge which had initiated the Actors' Company.
— Ian McKellen, October 1999
| Year | Place | Title/Writer | Director/Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 |
Royal National Theatre Lyttelton London
|
VENICE PRESERV'D or A Plot Discovered
Thomas Otway |
DIRECTOR: Peter Gill ROLE: Pierre |
| 1984 |
National Theatre Lyttelton London |
WILD HONEY (1984)
Anton Chekov (Untitled First Play) adapted by Michael Frayn |
DIRECTOR: Christopher Morahan ROLE: Michael Platonov Society of West End Theatres (SWET) - Best Actor in a Revival |
| 1984 |
Canada Ottawa, Kingston, Toronto |
ACTING SHAKESPEARE (Canada)
From Shakespeare with commentary by Ian McKellen
|
|
| 1984 |
Royal National Theatre Olivier London |
CORIOLANUS (1984)
William Shakespeare |
DIRECTOR: Peter Hall ROLE: Coriolanus London Evening Standard Award - Best Actor |
| 1985 |
Piccadilly Theatre London | A Night for Nicaragua |
|
| 1985 |
National Theatre & McKellen / Petherbridge Group Lyttelton, Blackstone London, Chicago
|
THE DUCHESS OF MALFI
John Webster |
DIRECTOR: Philip Prowse ROLE: Bosola |
| 1985 |
Old Vic London | A Tribute to Michael Redgrave |
|
| 1985 |
National Theatre & McKellen / Petherbridge Group Olivier, Odeon, Blackstone London, Paris, Chicago
|
THE REAL INSPECTOR HOUND
Tom Stoppard |
DIRECTOR: Tom Stoppard ROLE: Inspector Hound |
| 1985 |
National Theatre & McKellen / Petherbridge Group Olivier, Odeon, Blackstone London, Paris, Chicago
|
THE CRITIC
Richard Brinsley Sheridan |
DIRECTOR: Sheila Hancock ROLE: Mr. Puff |
| 1985 |
Royal National Theatre & McKellen / Petherbridge Group Cottesloe London
|
THE CHERRY ORCHARD
Anton Chekov, translation by Mike Alfreds with Lilia Sokolov |
DIRECTOR: Mike Alfreds ROLE: Lopakhin |
| 1986 |
CAMBRIDGE ARTS THEATRE Cambridge
|
STRANGE EVENTFUL HISTORY
|
|
| 1986 |
Royal National Theatre - McKellen / Petherbridge Group International Theatre Festival Chicago
|
THE CHERRY ORCHARD (Chicago)
Anton Chekov, translation by Mike Alfreds with Lilia Sokolov |
DIRECTOR: Mike Alfreds ROLE: Lopakhin |
| 1986 |
Olivier Theatre London |
ACTING SHAKESPEARE (London 1986)
From Shakespeare with commentary by Ian McKellen |
|
| 1986 |
National Theatre Virginia Theater New York |
WILD HONEY (Broadway)
Anton Chekov (Untitled First Play) adapted by Michael Frayn |
DIRECTOR: Christopher Morahan ROLE: Michael Platonov Drama Desk Award Nomination: Outstanding Actor in a Play |