An injury sustained by actor Ian McKellen while he was running for a train forced him to postpone his performance in the lead role of King Lear on Saturday night - so he gave an impromptu Greatest Hits performance instead.
The veteran actor was due to appear in a matinee of Shakespeare's play at The Duke of York's Theatre in London.
Posting on Twitter on Sunday, he said: "I hadn't long been up before I set off for yesterday's matinee of King Lear. At the underground station I galloped up 45 steps to catch the train above. Once on it, I skipped along the carriage and my left leg gave way.
Standing ovation for Sir Ian McKellen, who welcomed his cast mates to the stage after being unable to perform. While I’m obviously disappointed to not see King Lear, it was a privilege to hear McKellen share his thoughts on theatre this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/r8TCWJJJwX
— Katie Simpson (@CBCKatie) August 4, 2018
"A strained calf muscle was diagnosed and was painfully pummeled back into life. With a walking stick, I managed the evening performance but not the afternoon one.
"Instead I chatted on stage to the audience while they waited for their money back and I tried out a few new routines and some old ones - a bit of Gandalf and a couple of Shakespeare speeches.
"Sitting down was fine but I just couldn't have managed kneeling in the rain-storm, nor risked carrying Cornelia's corpse on my back.
"I just want to reassure those who have tickets for Tuesday, our next performance, that I'll be back again, muscle restored and spirits high. And repeated apologies to Saturday's audience who missed Lear and got just me instead."
