Shakespeare does not belong in the classroom, and should be left off the English curriculum entirely, according to the actor Sir Ian McKellen.

Sir Ian, known for playing Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings films, is one of the country’s leading Shakespearean actors. But he insists that the Bard belongs in the theatre, rather than in school.

“Almost any story that people tell you about Shakespeare in the classroom is negative,” he tells TES, in an interview to mark the 400th anniversary of Shakespeare’s death today.

He also recites a few lines of Shakespeare to illustrate his point, exclusively for TES readers:

This is an edited version of an article in the 22 April edition of TES. Subscribers can read the full story here. To subscribe, click here. To download the digital edition, Android users can click here and iOS users can click here. TES magazine is available at all good newsagents.

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