Following a recent onstage fall, Ian McKellen will now not return to Player Kings. The Tony and Olivier winner was scheduled to lead the production's U.K. tour, but is dropping out on doctor's orders, according to a social post from the production.
"Two weeks after my accident onstage, my injuries improve day by day," writes McKellen in the statement. "It's with the greatest reluctance that I have accepted the medical advice to protect my full recovery by not working in the meantime."
Understudy David Semark, who played the remainder of the production's West End run following the incident, will remain in the role for the tour. McKellen praised his performance in the statement. "...I can assure them that with David Semark now playing Falstaff, Robert Icke's production and his acting company remain as dazzling as ever," continues McKellen. "Go see for yourself!"
McKellen had starred as John Falstaff in the new Robert Icke play, an adaptation of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts 1 and 2. The production's West End run at the Noël Coward Theatre concluded June 22. The London performances followed earlier bows at New Wimbledon Theatre and Manchester Opera House, and the production is scheduled to play Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich, and Newcastle in the coming weeks.
The cast also includes Toheeb Jimoh (Ted Lasso, Romeo and Juliet) as Hal and Richard Coyle (Ink, Fantastic Beasts: The Secrets of Dumbledore) as King Henry IV.
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Toheeb Jimoh, Hal Daniel, and Rabin Poins in Player Kings
Samuel Edward-Cook in Player Kings
Robin Soans and James Garnon in Player Kings
Richard Coyle in Player Kings
Richard Coyle in Player Kings
Ian McKellen in Player Kings
Ian McKellen and Toheeb Jimoh in Player Kings
Ian McKellen and Geoffrey Freshwater in Player Kings
Clare Perkins in Player Kings
Ian McKellen in Player Kings
Cast of Player Kings
