Sir Ian McKellen was taken to hospital after falling from the stage of a theater in central London.
The Lord of the Rings star, 85, was in a fight scene during Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theater when he lost his balance and fell, a witness told Sky News.
Sir Ian, who plays John Falstaff, is said to have screamed in pain as staff rushed to help when the house lights came on.
He was circling a battle scene involving the Prince of Wales and Henry Percy when he fell.
The severity of his injuries is unclear.
One audience member said they were “in shock” and hoped Sir Ian was ok because “it must have been quite a fall from a height”.
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They added: “I was at the back of the theater, in the stands. There was a fight scene and Sir Ian went down the step on the stage, lost his balance and fell off the stage and into the audience.
“He still had his microphone on and could be heard shouting for help when some stagehands appeared and began instructing everyone to get out while bringing in a stretcher.”
The witness added: “We were evacuated to the street and after 10-15 minutes we were told that the show could not resume and that we would be refunded, and that an ambulance was on the way for Sir Ian.”
The public after being evacuated to St Martin’s Lane
Audience members were evacuated and told the remainder of the performance had been cancelled.
Player Kings is a production of Shakespeare’s Henry IV, parts one and two.
It is due to move to Bristol Racecourse in July and will also be shown in Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle.
This story originally appeared on News.sky.com read the full story
