RUSHES: Theatre: Sir Ian McKellen and Toheeb Jimoh interview

Theatre: Sir Ian McKellen and Toheeb Jimoh interview; Part 2 of 7 ENGLAND: INT Sir Ian McKellen (Actor) and Toheeb Jimoh (Actor) interview SOT Q: IT'S SO IMPORTANT TO YOU ISN'T IT THAT WE CONTINUE TO PUT SHAKESPEARE ON OUR STAGES - (McKellen) Well it's important because audiences enjoy watching Shakespeare / mind you, after the show, people have travelled from all over the place, many of them say 'it's our first Shakespeare' / what a responsibility, to be able to hook somebody in to the joys of the wonderful language and stories that Shakespeare told / actors only go on doing Shakespeare because audiences want it; the reward is two-fold, with the audiences reaction and the hard work you have to put in, which I think is worthwhile / I'm exhausted but very happy - (Jimoh) Same, it's rewarding, it's a rewarding exhaustion / by the end of it you feel like you've done something that matters and has impacted people- - (McKellen) It nearly feels like work (laughter) Q: I MEAN IT'S VERY LONG, THIS IS HENRY IV PARTS ONE AND TWO PUT TOGETHER / DOUBLE THE EFFORT, DOUBLE THE ADRENALINE, DOUBLE THE ENERGY REQUIRED / YOU'RE DIFFERENT GENERATIONS OBVIOUSLY, HOW DO YOU BOTH COPE - (Jimoh) It is (exhausting), but I think it's also rewarding / the joy of live theatre is as much as we're expending energy on the stage we have an audience there who are giving us energy back by responding to what we're doing, being there with us and listening / it isn't entirely exhausting for me, and I think also when your dance partner is Ian McKellen, if he's not exhausted I can't be (laughter) Q: SO UNLESS IAN IS EXHAUSTED, NONE OF YOU ARE ALLOWED TO SAY YOUR EXHAUSTED - (Jimoh) No permission to be tired (laughter) - (McKellen) It's a good sort of tired feeling isn't it / and it's lovely to be in the West End right in the thick of it, other plays going on around with friends in them, tourists looking up at billboards and queuing up to get tickets, it's very exciting / but t...