Ian McKellen has signed to star in a half-hour mockumentary series, The Academy, from DLT Entertainment, according to Variety.

McKellen is set to play his fictional brother, Murray McKellen, who heads a run-down drama school, the Clapham Academy of Creative Arts, that is hoping to secure new funding through a documentary on the school.

McKellen has been closely involved in the development of the series, which will be written and directed by Peter Hinton and produced by Humphrey Barclay. U.K. shingle 2act Prods. is co-producer with DLT. Other cast members set include Brit TV vets Jonathan Hyde, Sylvester McCoy and Frances Barber.