Traffic has defeated the best of us… and it is no exception for the veteran Shakespearean Sir Ian McKellen.
The 84-year-old actor had to take drastic and swift measures to ensure he would cross London in time for his daily performance on stage – riding on the back of a motorcycle.
Sir Ian currently plays Shakespeare’s lovable Falstaff in The Player Kings at the Noel Coward Theater in the West End, a new adaptation of Henry IV parts one and two.
But the actor lives seven miles away from the theater in a Thameside house in the historic area of Limehouse in the East End.
A source said: “Sir Ian tried to be picked up by a car provided by theater bosses but it took so long to get across town it was useless.
“One night it took him 90 minutes to go from his house. After that, it was decided that a motorcycle was the only option.
After his run in London, Sir Ian, whose film credits include the Lord of the Rings trilogy, will take The Player Kings to Bristol, Birmingham, Norwich and Newcastle – but probably not on a motorbike.
