“Crushed by Gandalf the Grey”: Woman Sir Ian McKellen fell on during on-stage incident speaks out

The woman Sir Ian McKellen fell on from the stage during a London theatre performance has spoken out about the situation she experienced herself. Johanna was in the front row audience when the 85-year-old actor fell during a fight scene in Player Kings at the Noël Coward Theatre.

Johanna is from Leatherhead, Surrey. She had been attending the play with her brother and a friend and was sitting in the front row when Sir Ian McKellen fell from the stage and hit his head on her knee.

Woman on whom Sir Ian McKellen fell says her injury was not treated immediately

According to the BBC, Johanna claimed that the injured theatre staff did not take good care of her and did not know how to respond to her condition. A spokesperson for the Noël Coward Theatre apologised for the incident and said that she had been given support and assistance since the incident and that this would continue to be the case.

She said it was a bolt from the blue when she arrived at the hospital with soft tissue injuries caused by his fall. Two women noticed Johanna’s distress and led her to the lobby, where she was cared for by an attending physician. Initially, there was some confusion among the operating room staff about health and safety procedures and they were slow to help Johanna.

The 30-year-old viewer joked: “Being crushed by Gandalf the Grey is something you don’t expect.” She praised the show until McKellen’s mishap, where he appeared to trip over one of the props, which gave him momentum and sent him plummeting headfirst into it. She added that his head violently hit her right knee, prompting both of them to call for help. Paramedics focused primarily on Sir Ian and neglected Johanna, she told the outlet.

Both Sir Ian McKellen and the woman he fell on were taken to hospital

She thanked the doctor who helped her when the help she needed would have been hard to get otherwise. After a state of shock, she remembered crying as she was told that no ambulance would be provided to take her home. The theatre staff told her to book an ambulance herself as a refund was always offered later – Johanna booked a taxi back to Leatherhead with her brother and a friend. They then took her to Epsom Hospital with her mother Angela.

She did not know how Sir Ian McKellen was and feared something terrible had happened to him. The news that his condition was stable later came as a relief. She told the news agency: “When the news said that he was being cared for and that he seemed to be OK, I felt a little better and a little relieved.”

Sir Ian is currently undergoing physiotherapy, light exercise and needs to rest at home after his fall. He will not be on stage as Falsestaff for the final three West End performances of Player Kings, but is expected to make a full recovery and be able to take part in the Bristol performances of that play next month.

According to the above news agency, the Noël Coward Theatre expressed its deep regret over what it described as an extremely rare accident. The theatre is in regular contact with those affected to offer ongoing support and assistance and wishes both Johanna and Sir Ian McKenell a speedy full recovery.