Overview

• Sir Ian McKellen will open a rehearsed reading of Twelfth Night featuring an all-trans and non-binary ensemble in a one-night-only event.
• Director Phoebe Kemp says the production spotlights the play’s fluid exploration of gender by centering trans and non-binary artists.
• The performance takes place at The Space Theatre ahead of London Trans+ Pride and is produced by the troupe Trans What You Will.
• Funds are being raised through a public crowdfunding campaign, the event will be livestreamed worldwide, and all profits go to UK trans charity Not A Phase.
• Billed as a “joyful act of protest and pleasure activism,” the reading has drawn both praise for its inclusive casting and criticism from detractors questioning its exclusive approach.