Acting legend Sir Ian McKellen made an unexpected appearance in a local production of Les Miserables at the Theatre Royal in Newcastle at the weekend.
Members of the audience were not aware the star joined the regular cast during the matinee performance of the musical, but his fellow performers were happy to share their spotlight, report the Newcastle Chronicle.
After the performance, Sir Ian joined the cast in a pub sing-along, and Les Mis actor Will Richardson shared a video of the impromptu performance, calling the Lord of the Rings actor a "legend".
Posting on Instagram and Twitter, Richardson, who plays Enjolras in the touring production of the musical, told how the star of stage and screen had shared his dressing room ahead of Saturday's matinee.
He said he then had the chance to lead his "very special guest" on the barricade, adding: "Someone pinch me. An afternoon I’ll never ever forget!"
Pictures from the performance show the award-winning actor in Les Mis costume and Richardson, who shared the video of the pub sing-along of the song One Day More from the show, added that the "true thespian legend" also had been to watch the evening's performance.
He wrote: "Such a gentleman and so very kind! He said he’s desperate to be in it.. so we let him sing with us" #what a night."
The musical's official Facebook page also shared the news of the famous actor's Les Mis debut. It attracted plenty of comments from fans and audience members who called the show "brilliant” and "spectacular".
One Facebook user responded: "What a pleasure it was to see him and to see all of this incredible cast," while Another wrote: "Sir Ian! OMG! That's beyond exciting! From his costume I assume he was one of the ABC boys. I can totally picture him singing Red and Black! *faints in excitement*".
Sir Ian has spoken in glowing terms about the Theatre Royal in the past, calling the Grey Street landmark "one of the most beautiful acting spaces".
