In 1970, Sir Ian McKellen and James Laurenson made history with a kiss in a filmed production of “Edward II”
In 1969, Sir Ian McKellen and James Laurenson starred in a production of Christopher Marlowe’s classic Renaissance play Edward II as part of the Prospect Theatre Company. The production would lead to the first gay kiss to be shown on television in the U.K. Edward II is one of the earliest English history plays. A contemporary and rival of William Shakespeare, Marlowe dramatized the ill-fated king’s reign and highlighted his relationship with one of his “favourites,” Piers Gaveston, an English nobleman who was rumoured to be his lover.





















