LONDON.- He actor Ian McKellen said he would retire from a tour by the United Kingdom of his most recent work theateras he needs more time to recover after falling off the stage at a London theatre last month.
McKellen, 85, said his injuries are improving every day.
“It is with the greatest reluctance that I have accepted medical advice to protect my full recovery and not work in the meantime,” he said in a statement.
Actor’s hospitalization
The star of The Lord of the Rings spent three nights in a London hospital after falling off the stage during a performance of Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theatre on June 17.
The piece is an adaptation of William Shakespeare’s two historical plays Enrique IVdirected by Robert Icke. Several performances were cancelled following the incident before the tour resumed with understudy Devid Semark in the role of Falstaff.
Producers said Semark would continue to play the role during a national tour that runs from July 3 to July 27.
McKellen, who played Gandalf in The Lord of the Rings already Magneto in the movies X-Menis one of Britain’s most acclaimed interpreters of Shakespeare, with roles including Richard III, Macbeth and King Lear.
He has won a Tony Award -for Amadeus-, several Olivier Awards and has been nominated for two Academy Awards, five Emmy Awards and several BAFTA Awards.
Source: AP
