SIR Ian McKellen has praised the Theatre Royal as the best venue in the country. The actor, who is appearing in Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot until Saturday, named the Newcastle playhouse as his favourite theatre.

He also praised ongoing development work, which will involve a £3.5m revamp of the auditorium and conservation work on the historic building.

Sir Ian was speaking at a private post-performance dinner at the Theatre Royal on Wednesday, where he was joined by distinguished co-stars Patrick Stewart, Simon Callow and Ronald Pickup.

The star, who has appeared on stage and screen, first trod the Theatre Royal’s boards with the Prospect Theatre Company in 1969, playing the lead in Shakespeare’s Richard III.

And he said he immediately fell in love with the theatre – and the city.

Also there were James Ramsbotham chief executive of the North East Chamber of Commerce and a member of the Gillian Dickinson Charitable Trust – a supporter of the theatre. He said: "I’m still pinching myself. It was a very special evening.

"Sir Ian stood up and said the Theatre Royal is the best theatre in the country. But he also praised the city as a whole – he said that the sense of community here in the North East is reflected in the audience.

"When the audience are coming and going it is clear that many of them know each other, unlike in London. As actors, they feel that they can really become part of that community.