THE MARQUIS OF KEITH
Written by
Frank Wedekind
Directed by Ronald Eyre (and translator)
Ian McKellen in the role of The Marquis of Keith
Aldwych Theatre, London
19 November 1974
Comments and Reviews
"Ian McKellen underlines the Marquis' limp, but at the same time shows his animal vitality by the intensity of the contortions of his body, when, for example, to emphasise a point in an argument he leans across a table so that only his toes and his elbows hold him suspened, like a gymnast barre. His voice is the rich instrument of the born mob-orator with the histrionic inflections of a barnstorming actor; and he conveys all the wit and sheer intelligence, the exuberant, innocent overconfidence which make the amoralist more honest than the respectable squares who surround him." — Martin Esslin, Plays and Players Jan 1975