Ian McKellen, Derek Jacobi, Frances Barber Voice Heuristic Shakespeare's App Edition of THE TEMPEST

"It's always a bother to me that so many people meet Shakespeare not in the theatre, not even on the screen, but on the page. I think to give somebody unfamiliar with reading the text a Shakespeare play to enjoy is as daft as giving them the score of a Mozart piano concerto. You can read it, but you can't hear it."

So says Sir Ian McKellen, who lends his voice to Heuristic Shakespeare, a new iPad app series that allows people to hear the playwright's words, rather than just reading them.

McKellen will be seen speaking the lines of Prospero in THE TEMPEST, the first app in the planned series of 37, covering all of Shakespeare's plays. Also featured are Derek Jacobi as Gonzalo and Frances Barber as Iris.

As reported by The Stage, users will be able to scroll through a play's script while actors read the lines aloud as they appear on screen.

"Following the text and watching the actors read the words out loud is like having your own private performance to hand," McKellen explained, adding that it would appeal "to students at whatever level, as much as to theatregoers who want to study the play."

The app, a collaboration between McKellen, director Richard Loncraine, Shakespeare scholar Jonathan Bate and publisher Bloomsbury, will also have detailed descriptions of the characters, videos of McKellen discussing the play, a timeline of Shakespeare's life and an interactive map of Shakespearean London.

Creators Heuristic Media insist it is "not intended to be a replacement for seeing the plays in the theatre or on the screen", but claim it can help make those experiences "more enjoyable and accessible."

Click here for the full article and visit heuristicmedia.tv.