LOTR actor Ian McKellen suffers a fall from stage, hospitalised

Tension prevailed at the Noel Coward Theatre in London's West End as veteran Hollywood actor Ian McKellen was hospitalised after falling off a stage during a performance on Tuesday.

The audience had to evacuate the venue, and the evening show had to be cancelled as a consequence.

McKellen lost balance during a battle scene in Player Kings, where he plays John Falstaff, which is a production of William Shakespeare's Henry IV, Parts One and Two.

According to Variety, a theatre representative said that the 85-year-old actor is in "good spirits" and will "make a speedy and full recovery."

McKellen, who is famous for his roles as Gandalf in Peter Jackson's The Lord of the Rings trilogy and Magneto in the X-Men movies, is a frequent Shakespeare actor. He has done roles in Macbeth, King Lear, Richard II, Coriolanus, Iago, and Richard III.