Sir Ian McKellen: there will be no more British acting greats - Telegraph

Sir Ian McKellen: there will be no more British acting greats - Telegraph:

Britain will produce no more actors of the calibre of Dame Judi Dench or Sir Derek Jacobi because repertory theatre has died out, according to Sir Ian McKellen.

Sir Ian said he would not have the career he has today without a grounding in regional rep. The current crop of actors, who go straight into television and film roles or appear in the occasional stage production, do not have the same experience.

“The situation is desperate. There are no [resident] companies in this country - not even the National Theatre has one. There’s a desert,” he said.

“The danger’s going to be that the current generation of actors won’t develop into good middle-aged performers because they won’t have been able to live from their work.

“The strength of British theatre should be that these actors in their middle years know what they’re doing and are good at it. Not rich, not famous, but making a living.”