Sir Ian McKellen (known as Gandalf) will open a historic production of Twelfth Night, featuring an all-trans and non-binary cast.
The one-night-only rehearsed reading, staged by the theatre group Trans What You Will, will take place at The Space Theatre in London on July 25, 2025, and will be livestreamed globally. All profits will go to the UK-based trans charity Not A Phase.
The production reimagines Shakespeare’s gender-fluid classic through a trans lens, emphasizing themes of mistaken identity, cross-dressing, and shifting gender roles.
Director Phoebe Kemp describes the reading as an act of joy, solidarity, and protest, celebrating trans and non-binary artists at a time when trans representation is under threat.
‘Twelfth Night already toys with gender and performance—it feels like Shakespeare wrote it for us,’ they tell Metro.
The event is scheduled ahead of London Trans+ Pride.
IMO yes.
These are trans people in a ragingly transphobic place, choosing to celebrate and protest by doing something both fun and yes, provocative rather than just hide from public view or continue on as if nothing was happening, and a big name celebrity is choosing to support their work. The backlash is predictable but it isn’t *the* point. Could this energy be better directed? idk maybe, but theater kids gonna theater kid. And frankly its as likely to do the opposite and inspire a backlash so disproportionate and deranged that it wakes some more people up to the fact that anti trans campaigners just hate trans people, none of their alleged grievances are in good faith
as protest its kinda libshit but as art I hope it is wonderful and fulfilling for those involved and the audience
Yeah, you’re right. I kind of forgot the whole point of art is to constantly challenge the status quo.
Apologies for my previous comment.
It’s all good, just since you asked, thats my feeling
generally with stuff like this my line is like “you don’t have to like it but it doesn’t make sense to shit on it either”
I don’t really like most drag shows and stuff that I’ve seen, but my opinion isn’t the only one that matters, and its not really an articulable political point, just a preference I have. Your comment was making a political or strategic point though I suppose, I just disagreed with it