A portrait of Ian McKellen (center) hanging alongside depictions of (from left to right) Frances Barber, Charles Dance, Harriet Walter and Simon Callow StageBlockAn exhibition at theRed Eight Gallery in London is immortalizing the greatestShakespearean actors of our time through portraits that can blink, breathe and rattle off soliloquies.For hundreds of years, artists have captured the theaters greatest actors through portraiture. The new show, titled The Shakespeare Portraits (Act I), aims to update the practice by bringing the thespians to life using state-of-the-art technology.The show includes ten digital portraits of contemporary actorsincluding celebrities likePatrick Stewart andIan McKellenreciting lines from various Shakespeare plays. However, the portraits are not just small films that play on loop. Artnets Juliet Stevenson's portrait at London's Red Eight Gallery StageBlockMichael Billington, a critic for the Guardian, writes that he was struck by the intimacy of the experience.I sat beneath a large, framed image of Ian McKellen, and as I spoke to the exhibitions creative director,Arsalan Sattari-Hicks, I realised that Sir Ians head was occasionally moving, that his gaze was subtly shifting and his features expressing a variety of emotions, he adds.The portraits were made by StageBlock, a tech studio that creates new kinds of interactive art. The actors worked with the studio, posing for a camera and reciting their lines.Museumgoers can hear the speeches by pressing a button. Each of the ten actors infuses their own spin on their chosen Shakespeare text, giving viewers an up-close look at how they bring the Bards lines to life.Ian McKellen delivers all the worlds a stage fromAs You Like It,Derek Jacobi offers upHamlets to be or not to be, writes Artnet. Harriet Walter turns toProsperos Ye elves of hill fromThe Tempest,David Suchet performsMacbeths infamous lines on the futility of life tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow (a role Suchet has never played).The Shakespeare Portraits by Stage BlockWatch on StageBlock is hoping that viewers will not only see the novelty in the new pieces, but also treat them as lasting works of art that can be hung in galleries and sold to interested buyers.Its a bold, visionary new idea for the digital age, but I hope it wont stifle the talent of the individual portraitist, writes Billington of the Guardian. I cherish the notion of, say, Salvador Dals painting of Olivier as Richard III hanging on a gallery wall alongside the mesmerizing image of McKellen looking on at one in watchful fascination.The tech company also plans to make an Act II of the show, which will feature a second round of Shakespearean actors in new digital portraits next year.This collection is the culmination of profound collaborations with some of the most iconic actors of our time, says Sattari-Hicks in a statement. This is only the beginning, with many renowned home-grown and international talents already in line for future collections.The Shakespeare Portraits (Act I) is on view at the Red Eight Gallery in London through January 10, 2025.Get the latest stories in your inbox every weekday.Filed Under: Actors, Arts, British Writers, Celebrities, Digital Art, Exhibitions, Exhibits, Film, Movies, Museums, Painting, Portraiture, Theater, Visual Arts, William Shakespeare