Sir Ian McKellen has signed up to star alongside Jeremy Corbyn in a drag-heavy Christmas pantomime in Islington.
A long-time Left-winger best known for his portrayal as Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Sir Ian has previously spoken of his respect for the former Labour leader.
The thespian will play Toto, a “washed up rock star dog”, in the Wicked Witches production, while Mr Corbyn will play the “Wizard of Oz-lington” – a reference to his north London constituency.
They will be joined on stage at the Pleasance Theatre by a cohort of prominent non-binary drag performers.
Running from Nov 18 to Dec 31, there will be a mix of child-friendly and “adults only” performances, which will contain “strong language” and “sexual references”.
Sir Ian, 86, said of his latest role: “Having survived – just – my appearance in the film of Cats, I am thrilled, relieved even to now be offered the role of a dog – Toto no less in Wicked Witches. I would be barking mad to refuse.”
Sir Ian’s Toto is described as a ‘washed up rock star dog’
The pantomime has been described as a comic blend of the musical Wicked and The Wizard of Oz.
It was written by non-binary dramatist ShayShay, who previously created a “semi-immersive sequel to ‘Wicked’/‘The Wizard of Oz’, in which all the characters are queer”.
Sir Ian, who lives relatively close to Islington in Limehouse, has praised his new co-star in the past.
Speaking to The Telegraph in 2017, when Mr Corbyn was still Labour leader, the actor said: “Well if I were a politician, I would like to be just like Corbyn.
“I would like to say it how it is, and that ‘I don’t know how to do this but I would like the world to be a better place’ – rather than be someone who talks about the economy. Because frankly nobody understands the economy.”
That same year, he publicly called on voters to support the re-election of Wes Streeting, describing him as “one of the great young politicians, everything before him but with his principles firmly in place”.
Just as Sir Ian has weighed into politics, so has Mr Corbyn, 76, made forays into the arts.
He founded the Peace and Justice Project in 2020, an organisation which runs an ongoing campaign called Music for the Many.
Jeremy Corbyn will be at the end of the yellow brick road this panto season
Following the 2017 general election, Mr Corbyn was invited to speak on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury Festival where he addressed a crowd before a performance by US hip-hop group Run the Jewels.
Mr Corbyn said of his crossover into pantomime: “Local theatre is where the real wizardry happens, sparking imagination and spreading a bit of joy.”
It comes amid off-stage theatrics surrounding his new hard-Left political vehicle, Your Party, co-founded with former Labour MP Zarah Sultana, which has been plagued by in-fighting since its launch.
Adnan Hussain, the pro-Gaza independent MP for Blackburn, quit the new party over its “toxic” culture.
It followed a public clash between Mr Hussain and Ms Sultana over his gender-critical views, an issue which has since caused further divisions.
Ms Sultana has also rebuked Iqbal Mohamed, the independent MP for Dewsbury and Batley, over social media posts relating to transgender issues, in which he opined that women’s rights must not be “taken away”.
This prompted Ms Sultana to insist that Your Party remains resolutely pro-trans.
These rifts emerged after a long-running feud between Mr Corbyn and Ms Sultana, 32, who accused him of running a “sexist boys’ club”.
‘ The preceding article may include information circulated by third parties ’
‘ Some details of this article were extracted from the following source www.yahoo.com ’
