Ian McKellen watches final day of Players Kings from audience as he recovers from fall
Actor was forced to pull out of production following dramatic fall
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Your support makes all the difference.Sir Ian McKellen has watched his understudy perform in the final matinee of Player Kings, the play he was starring in before he sustained wrist and neck injuries in a dramatic fall while performing in the show.
The Lord of the Rings actor, 85, had been playing the William Shakespeare character Sir John Falstaff in the production. On 17 June, after he lost his footing during a fight scene and fell from the stage, landing on an audience member, he announced that he had pulled out of the remainder of the showās run.
McKellen said in a statement that his exit was decided with the āgreatest reluctanceā due to doctorās advice.
Despite his disappointment, McKellen went to watch the final performance ofPlayer Kings, a version of the Henry IV part one and two plays, in Newcastle on Saturday (27 June).
Sharing a headshot of himself on Instagram, he wrote in the caption: āOn the day of the 101st and final performance of Player Kings ā without me ā I celebrated by removing Falstaffās hair, which has been growing for nine months.
āI will be in the audience for the matinee in Newcastle,ā he said.
His understudy, David Semark, stepped in to finish the run in the West End, and continued to play the role during the national tour, including at Newcastleās Theatre Royal.
McKellen reassured fans earlier this month that his doctors promised he will make a ācomplete recoveryā if he avoids working for the next few weeks.
He assured audience members that Ickeās āmasterful production remains intactā, despite his absence, and that he is āon the mendā.
āAny actor will say that missing a performance feels somewhat shameful, even when he is not to blame,ā he said. āNone of us ever wants to let down our audience.ā
McKellen has played several Shakespearean characters over the years, including Richard II, Macbeth, Coriolanus and King Lear.
The actor was not the only person hospitalised as a result of the incident at the Noel Coward Theatre last month ā an audience member called Johanna was hospitalised for the night.
āGetting crushed by Gandalf the Grey, thatās something you donāt expect,ā Johanna, 30, who asked for her surname not to be disclosed, told the BBC.

She said she had her legs crossed when McKellen tripped on a prop and āflew head firstā into her and collided with her knee āquite hardā.
Johanna recalled how McKellen had screamed out in pain, which sent her āinto shockā.
āI want to thank everyone for their kind messages and support,ā the actor said via his publicist, Clair Dobbs, on X/Twitter on Tuesday (18 June).
āSince the accident, during a performance of Player Kings last night, my injuries have been diagnosed and treated by a series of experts, specialists and nurses working for the National Health Service.
āTo them, of course, I am hugely indebted.ā
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