Sir Ian McKellen is updating fans on his condition after taking a fall onstage in London last month during a performance of Player Kings.
On Tuesday, the 85-year-old actor took to X (formerly Twitter) to detail his recovery from the incident, which happened on June 17 as he was starring as John Falstaff in the adaptation of parts 1 and 2 of Henry IV. According to the BBC, he fell off the front of the stage and cried out for help.
"Just two weeks after my accident onstage I want to assure my many well-wishers that the injuries (to wrist and neck) are on the mend," McKellen wrote in his social media update. "My doctors promise a complete recovery -but only if I avoid work over the next few weeks."
Doctor's order mean the Lord of the Rings star will not be able to take the show on the road -- literally. On Monday, producers of Player Kings confirmed that McKellen would not be back for the national tour of the show.
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 they tour England. The expedition kicks off in Bristol on July 3 and wraps in Newcastle, England, on July 27.
"Meanwhile the show goes on and the Player Kings company start their four weeks' tour without me. My understudy David Semark, who with panache took over for the final performances at the Noël Coward Theatre in the West End of London, will play Falstaff again in Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle," McKellen shared.
After the incident, production was halted for several days before resuming on June 20 with David Semark in McKellen's role. Producers shared Semark would be filling in indefinitely as the Mr. Holmes star "recuperates following his fall."
Sir Ian McKellen in a production of 'Player Kings' at the Noel Coward Theatre on April 11, 2024 in London, England
At the end of his post on Tuesday, McKellen acknowledged a feeling of discomfort in letting down audience members who turned out specifically to see him in the role. He still says that while it's certainly not the outcome he hoped for, the production is just as good as ever.
"Any actor will say that missing a performance feels somewhat shameful, even when he is not to blame. None of us ever wants to let down our audience. But Robert Icke's masterful production remains intact. His mis en scene is compelling throughout and his actors, led by Toheeb Jimho and Richard Coyle as Prince Hal and his father, remain on top form," McKellen wrote. "Go see for yourself!"
'Player Kings' co-stars Toheeb Jimoh and Sir Ian McKellen
Days after his fall, ET spoke to Veronika Muzika -- an audience member inside the Noël Coward Theatre to watch Player Kings during the incident -- and she said at first she thought McKellen's accident was part of the play.
"So he fell down the orchestra pit just in front of our eyes and he was screaming something like, 'Help,' and I thought it was part of the play because there were a lot of wounded people, like, you know, it's a war act, and yeah, it was quite shocking," she recalled.
She continued: "He seemed like he was moving pretty OK through the stage as normal. I didn't see any kind of tripping. Maybe there was some slippery sort of fabric or something and it must have been something really, really 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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