Sir Ian McKellen and Roger Allam have established themselves as two national treasures of theatrical performances across the spectrum from Pantomime together, to classic theatre like King Lear and Uncle Vanya, to film and TV like Lord of the Rings and Endeavour and have long proven they have stage presence and acting skills to enthral an audience. It is therefore inspired casting to bring them together for a short summer season at the Theatre Royals of Windsor and Bath. Frank and Percy, a new play by Ben Weatherill, is a gentle meander through twenty-two short scenes showing their relationship evolve from a first chance meeting on the Heath as they walk their respective dogs, Toffee and Bruno (who sadly we never see).
They are playing their age, two elderly single men alone after the end of their previous long-term relationships. Frank (Allam) is a retired history teacher who has lost his wife and Percy (McKellen) is a former Professor of sociology who is about to publish a new book about climate change, has split from his long-term boyfriend but has a daughter in Australia. Percy is openly gay; Frank is persuaded to declare himself as bisexual but still sees Percy as “a bit of an arsehole”. The best line in the whole play is when Frank strokes his own head and declares with delightful pride “My hair is far too precious to me”.
