The piece opens up on a young Ian McKellen, sitting centre stage and waxing lyrical on the correct approach to the presentation of Shakespeare. His mannered platitudes are skewered by a hectoring voice off-screen: “Begin as soon as you like, would you?” Oblivious, McKellen slides into yet another anecdote, while the off-screen voice jabs: “Be as quick as you can would you please?”. In his film Sutcliffe questions a culture of class aspiration and intellectual complacency, undermining the apparent self-confidence of the ambitious young actor.