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.
godlessworm [comrade/them] - 1.1yr
wtf!!! shakespeare would never let a man play a woman’s role!!! this is historically inaccurate!!!
FACKING PROWNOWNS!!!!!
37
Bruja [she/her, love/loves] - 1.1yr
20
AntifaSuperWombat [she/her] - 1.1yr
"There will be no dawn for cis."
31
PKMKII [none/use name] - 1.1yr
Inevitably, some cultural warrior chud will scream about how this sullies the legacy of Shakespeare and then they’ll get dogwalked in the replies by everyone pointing out that female characters were portrayed by men in Shakespeare’s day.
25
Rom [he/him] - 1.1yr
McKellen came out as gay in 1988, and has since championed LGBT social movements worldwide. He was awarded the Freedom of the City of London in October 2014. McKellen is a cofounder of Stonewall, an LGBT rights lobby group in the United Kingdom, named after the Stonewall riots. He is also patron of LGBT History Month, Pride London, Oxford Pride, GayGlos, LGBT Foundation and FFLAG.
I'm willing to call him the one good Brit
24
Carcharodonna [she/her] - 1.1yr
This is erasure
19
Angel [any] - 1.1yr
wtf they made shakespeare woke
20
D61 [any] - 1.1yr
huh... No Magneto emotes...
12
GenderIsOpSec [she/her, kit/kit's] - 1.1yr
maybe terf island has some redeeming qualities
10
GrouchyGrouse [he/him] - 1.1yr
Naw, it's just the usual "bad place produces truly remarkable people who refuse to accept the bad stuff" thing.
Still get the warm and fuzzies in my heart, of course. Cuz it's nice to see people being nice and standing up for each other.
9
Dessa [she/her] - 1.1yr
Trans, nonbinary, and cross-garters
8
crusa187 @lemmy.ml - 1.1yr
Extremely based!
7
Owl [he/him] - 1.1yr
I saw the headline and thought "I hope it's Twelfth Night" and then it was. Nice.
7
ShinkanTrain @lemmy.ml - 1.1yr
I believe that's just called a play
4
DragonBallZinn [he/him, they/them] - 1.1yr
EDIT: I retract my implication of this being possible ragebait.
World is a fuck where the first instance I see trans people doing anything I immediately think “what horrible slurs are we going to be called this time”?
2
imogen_underscore [it/its, she/her] - 1.1yr
yes it's bad
8
Are_Euclidding_Me [e/em/eir] - 1.1yr
I'm having a hard time responding right to your comment. I've tried a few times and none of them have been quite right. I'm not sure this one worked either, but I gotta post something!
First, I think it's a mistake to see this as ragebait. Why shouldn't queer people who love theatre and Shakespeare be able to put on any show they please? The people doing this are doing it because they want to. Sure, having an entirely trans cast is absolutely a Political Statement here and now, but that's just because existing as trans is a Political Statement. I didn't choose to be trans (although I would have, being trans rules), and I hate that I downplay such an important part of myself in public just to be slightly safer. I can imagine it would be a powerful experience to be part of the cast of this show, because everyone in it is loudly being their whole queer self, very publicly. And I think that's beautiful, transness should be celebrated, even though it's dangerous to do so right now. In fact, maybe we need to do it more because it's dangerous right now
Second, how do you feel about Pride? Not the pink-washed corporate parade it has become, but what it started as, a revolutionary movement. "We're here, we're queer, get used to it." Were Pride parades "ragebait" back when marching in one was dangerous? I don't think so. At the end of the day, Pride is a celebration, a celebration of people whose gender and sexuality are incompatible with the dominant cishet paradigm of love, sexuality, and gender. And I feel it's important to celebrate that, even if it's dangerous, even if being proud of our identities pisses off bigots.
Finally, your last question is very, very close to the classic class-reductionist fear that "if we (as leftists) cater to all these silly little identities that don't matter, then we won't be able to unite and defeat our real enemy, the bourgeoisie". And I think this line of argument has been debunked on Hexbear often enough that I don't have to do it again here. If not, of course, let me know, I'll give it a shot, although I'm pretty sure there are people who've already addressed this argument better than I ever could.
7
DragonBallZinn [he/him, they/them] - 1.1yr
Hey yeah, I’m very sorry and I definitely regret my comment. But I’ll still do my best to answer regardless.
To me, pride is certainly much needed and that at the end of the day, this is an lgbt person making art and should not be concerned on who takes issue, but yeah I’ve been feeling so defeated that it really showed in that comment.
Again, I’m sorry and I made sure to edit it.
5
Are_Euclidding_Me [e/em/eir] - 1.1yr
Hey, we all get defeated sometimes and post not-well-thought-out stuff on the internet!
5
Lemmygradwontallowme [he/him, it/its] - 1.1yr
Well when you get culture war brain'd and have heard the worst of it all, you're bound to expect it
Carcharodonna in traaaaaaannnnnnnnnns
Ian McKellen will open Shakespeare play with trans and nonbinary cast
https://trans-express.lgbt/post/784784290412101632/sir-ian-mckellen-will-open-shakespeare-play-withwtf!!! shakespeare would never let a man play a woman’s role!!! this is historically inaccurate!!!
FACKING PROWNOWNS!!!!!
"There will be no dawn for cis."
Inevitably, some cultural warrior chud will scream about how this sullies the legacy of Shakespeare and then they’ll get dogwalked in the replies by everyone pointing out that female characters were portrayed by men in Shakespeare’s day.
I'm willing to call him the one good Brit
This is
erasure
wtf they made shakespeare woke
huh... No Magneto emotes...
maybe terf island has some redeeming qualities
Naw, it's just the usual "bad place produces truly remarkable people who refuse to accept the bad stuff" thing.
Still get the warm and fuzzies in my heart, of course. Cuz it's nice to see people being nice and standing up for each other.
Trans, nonbinary, and cross-garters
Extremely based!
I saw the headline and thought "I hope it's Twelfth Night" and then it was. Nice.
I believe that's just called a play
EDIT: I retract my implication of this being possible ragebait.
World is a fuck where the first instance I see trans people doing anything I immediately think “what horrible slurs are we going to be called this time”?
yes it's bad
I'm having a hard time responding right to your comment. I've tried a few times and none of them have been quite right. I'm not sure this one worked either, but I gotta post something!
First, I think it's a mistake to see this as ragebait. Why shouldn't queer people who love theatre and Shakespeare be able to put on any show they please? The people doing this are doing it because they want to. Sure, having an entirely trans cast is absolutely a Political Statement here and now, but that's just because existing as trans is a Political Statement. I didn't choose to be trans (although I would have, being trans rules), and I hate that I downplay such an important part of myself in public just to be slightly safer. I can imagine it would be a powerful experience to be part of the cast of this show, because everyone in it is loudly being their whole queer self, very publicly. And I think that's beautiful, transness should be celebrated, even though it's dangerous to do so right now. In fact, maybe we need to do it more because it's dangerous right now
Second, how do you feel about Pride? Not the pink-washed corporate parade it has become, but what it started as, a revolutionary movement. "We're here, we're queer, get used to it." Were Pride parades "ragebait" back when marching in one was dangerous? I don't think so. At the end of the day, Pride is a celebration, a celebration of people whose gender and sexuality are incompatible with the dominant cishet paradigm of love, sexuality, and gender. And I feel it's important to celebrate that, even if it's dangerous, even if being proud of our identities pisses off bigots.
Finally, your last question is very, very close to the classic class-reductionist fear that "if we (as leftists) cater to all these silly little identities that don't matter, then we won't be able to unite and defeat our real enemy, the bourgeoisie". And I think this line of argument has been debunked on Hexbear often enough that I don't have to do it again here. If not, of course, let me know, I'll give it a shot, although I'm pretty sure there are people who've already addressed this argument better than I ever could.
Hey yeah, I’m very sorry and I definitely regret my comment. But I’ll still do my best to answer regardless.
To me, pride is certainly much needed and that at the end of the day, this is an lgbt person making art and should not be concerned on who takes issue, but yeah I’ve been feeling so defeated that it really showed in that comment.
Again, I’m sorry and I made sure to edit it.
Hey, we all get defeated sometimes and post not-well-thought-out stuff on the internet!
Well when you get culture war brain'd and have heard the worst of it all, you're bound to expect it