Mr. Ian McKellen is updating fans on his condition after taking a falling on stage in London last month during a presentation of King Players.
On Tuesday, the 85-year-old actor took to X (formerly Twitter) to detail his recovery from the incident, which happened on June 17 when he was starring as John Falstaff in the adaptation of parts 1 and 2 of Henry IV. According to BBC, he fell from the front of the stage and shouted for help.
“Just two weeks after my onstage accident, I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to my wrist and neck) are healing,” McKellen wrote in his social media update. “My doctors promise a full recovery — but only if I avoid work for the next few weeks.”
Doctor’s order means Lord of the Rings the star won’t be able to take the show on the road — literally. On Monday, producers of King Players confirmed that McKellen would not return for the show’s national tour..
Continuing his post, the Tony and Olivier Award-winning actor addressed his absence from the tour, advising fans to still go see the production as it travels across England. The expedition kicks off in Bristol on July 3 and ends in Newcastle, England, on July 27.
“In the meantime, the show goes on and the Player Kings company begins its four-week tour without me. My replacement David Semark, who gracefully took over the final performances at the Noël Coward Theatre in London’s West End, will play Falstaff again in Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle,” McKellen shared.
After the incident, production was halted for several days before resuming June 20 with David Semark in the role of McKellen. Producers shared that Semark would be filling in indefinitely as the Mr. Holmes star “recovers after fall”.
At the end of his post on Tuesday, McKellen acknowledged a sense of unease at disappointing audience members who showed up specifically to see him in the role. He went on to say that while it’s certainly not the outcome he was hoping for, the production is as good as ever.
“Any actor will tell you that missing a performance is a shameful thing, even when you’re not at fault. None of us want to disappoint an audience. But Robert Icke’s masterful production remains intact. His en scène is gripping from start to finish and his actors, led by Toheeb Jimho and Richard Coyle as Prince Hal and his father, remain in top form,” McKellen wrote. “Go see for yourself!”
Days after his fall, ET spoke to Veronika Muzika, a spectator inside the Noël Coward Theatre to watch King Players during the incident — and she said she initially thought McKellen’s accident was part of the play.
“Then he fell into the orchestra pit right in front of us and yelled something like ‘Help,’ and I thought it was part of the play because there were so many people injured, like, you know, it’s an act of war, and yeah, it was pretty shocking,” she recalled.
She continued: “He seemed to be moving around the stage really well, as usual. I didn’t see any kind of stumble. Maybe there was some kind of slippery fabric or something and it must have been something very, very small because he was acting and walking naturally until the last step when he actually fell and that’s why I thought it was staged.”
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