Fit for a king: Ian McKellen to play Lear at newly rebuilt Yard theatre in east London

Role marks a major return for the actor after falling off the stage in 2024 and is a coup for the forward-thinking theatre Ian McKellen is to play King Lear in his first major theatrical role since falling from the stage into the first row of the audience in 2024. The accident, which left him with “ agonising pains ”, happened during a performance of Player Kings in the West End and led McKellen to withdraw from the production. He will now return as Shakespeare’s Lear – a character he played to