Additional tickets for Ian McKellen On Stage in Wellington have been released due to popular demand.

An extra 500 tickets are now available for the Wellington performance at the Opera House on Saturday 23 June. Wellington is one of the final cities on the 11-centre tour and the audience is likely to include many of Sir Ian’s acting friends from The Hobbit.

Ian McKellen on Stage is a special one-man show created by the acclaimed stage and screen star and touring around the country to raise funds to restore Christchurch’s earthquake-damaged Isaac Theatre Royal.

Sir Ian is currently in New Zealand reprising his Oscar-nominated Gandalf in The Hobbit films and, direct from the Miramar studios, he will spend his weekends in May and June performing Ian McKellen on Stage at local theatres around the country.

With the support of ASB Bank, Ian McKellen on Stage opens in Stratford on Saturday 5 May before heading to Palmerston North, Hamilton, Tauranga, Nelson, Auckland, Christchurch, Wanaka, Hastings, Wellington and Carterton. Due to popular demand in Christchurch, an extra show at Court Theatre at Addington has been added to the tour.

Tickets have been selling strongly for all the performances and have sold out in Stratford, Palmerston North, Auckland, at the Aurora Centre in Christchurch and Carterton. All tickets are now on sale for all performances across New Zealand and no further performances can be added.

The show will be an intimate look at Sir Ian’s work and life beginning with a focus on Sir Ian’s The Lord of the Rings and Hobbit wizard character, Gandalf, as the actor discusses how he became involved with the films.

In the second half, Sir Ian will turn to Shakespeare and discuss the plays, films and roles, interrupted by the occasional speech and soliloquy. The show will finish with members of the audience being invited to "play" dead French soldiers while Sir Ian delivers a stirring final speech.

“The last time I was on stage in New Zealand was at the Isaac Theatre Royal in Waiting for Godot,” Sir Ian says. “I love this beautiful old theatre and want to help restore it as soon as possible.”

Sir Ian is at home on any stage, whether for the UK National Theatre, the Royal Shakespeare Company or on tour worldwide in plays ancient and modern.

Since The Lord of the Rings trilogy and the X-Men movies, he has played in Strindberg, Beckett, Chekhov, Shakespeare, Mark Ravenhill, Eduardo De Filippo - and as Widow Twankey in the pantomime Aladdin. In New Zealand he has toured as King Lear and as Gogo in Waiting for Godot. On television he was most recently seen achieving his ambition to act in Coronation Street.

Ian McKellen on Stage is being supported by the arts festivals networks around New Zealand. For full tour details visit www.mckellen.com