Ian McKellan’s reps have issued an update on his health after the Lord of the Rings star fell from a stage during a Monday evening performance at London’s Noël Coward Theatre. The 85-year-old is currently performing as the corpulent John Falstaff in a production of Henry IV, Parts One and Two, which is running for 12 weeks as part of a larger show entitled Player Kings.
For his role, McKellan wears a fat suit which he compared to “a rather heavy overcoat.” The actor was engaging in a physically strenuous fight scene when, possibly due to the added weight from his prosthesis, he lost his balance and fell from the stage.
Audience members recalled hearing McKellan cry out for help as theater staff rush to his aid. The remainder of the show was ultimately cancelled, and after McKellan was taken away by medical staff the audience was evacuated from the venue.
Late Monday evening, McKellan’s reps issued a statement giving a definitive update on the octagenarian’s “speedy and full recovery.”
“Thank you to our audience and the general public for their well wishes following Ian’s fall during this evening’s performance of Player Kings,” McKellen’s representative said in a statement. “Following a scan, the brilliant NHS (National Health Service) team have assured us that he will make a speedy and full recovery and Ian is in good spirits.”
The statement concluded: “Thank you to doctors, Rachel and Lee, who were on hand in the audience and to all the venue staff for their support.”
Tuesday’s performance of Henry IV was cancelled so that McKellan may recover.
