I saw the Player Kings in London’s Noel Coward Theatre two days before Sir Ian McKellen fell of the stage during a battle scene. The 85-year-old-actor has since cancelled his remaining West End performances. That battle scene—in Robert Icke’s adaptaton of Shakespeare’s Henry IV Parts 1 & 2— is shot through with music and energy and movement. At the Saturday matinee I attended, McKellen was brilliantly fluid in action and voice as Sir John Falstaff: hardy, lovable, revolting, and hilarious. (People love to describe HBO’s Succession as Shakesperean, but I had no idea the history plays could be as darkly funny as Kieran Culkin’s Roman Roy.)

After watching McKellen’s performance, I walked outside into a London downpour. Even the cold rain could not break the spell I was under. It wasn’t just McKellen’s performance as Falstaff that I found mesmerizing, it was his dedication to the work. The man is 85 and could have long ago retired from stage and screen, living on the windfall of his Gandalf fame. But in the Player Kings’ program, McKellen doesn’t even list his film credits, focusing only on his dozens of his stage appearances over his long career.

Sir Ian McKellen is recovering from his fall and fractured wrist and plans to return to the role of Falstaff in the UK touring show. (In all articles I’ve seen, he’s specific about who is helping with that recovery: the medical staff of the UK’s National Health Service, long under attack from Conservatives and an important factor of the upcoming elections.) I feel incredibly lucky to have seen him in a spectacular stage role, working with a cast at the height of their powers, including the superb Toheeb Jimoh as Prince Hal, the majestic Clare Perkins as Mistress Quickly, and the haunting countertenor Henry Jenkinson, who serves as an unsettling and mystical presence throughout the production.

To experience a skilled artist doing what they love is a special gift. If I had to choose a religion, it would be this: dedicating my life to making of art and to witnessing great artists at work; it’s more sustainable and energizing than the idea of an all-knowing God (either benevolent or wrathful), and more comforting than prayer.