Rave reviews for Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in Pinter/Beckett double bill

Theatrical knights Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart hope to bring their hit collaboration on a Harold Pinter classic to London, they revealed after its Broadway premiere.

The British acting stars opened last night to rave reviews in a double bill of Harold Pinter’s 1975 play No Man’s Land and Samuel Beckett’s tragicomedy Waiting for Godot — which they first staged in the West End in 2009.

And while Sir Ian, 74, said the plays would be probably his last appearance on Broadway (“I’ve been here once every decade since the 1960s and enjoyed every experience but it’s unlikely it’s going to happen again”) the men confirmed they would like London audiences to see No Man’s Land, in which they play competing poets. Sir Patrick, 73, said: “This developed out of our working relationship and our growing friendship that we wanted to do more. The plays thematically reflect one another.

“We hope it will not be the end of the road. We would love to perform this [No Man’s Land] in London. For a couple of oldies we’re very busy so we might be looking at 2015 but the good thing is that’s not a problem for this play.”

The duo, who bonded while filming the X-Men film series, have highlighted via social media their love of New York, sharing pictures of them at the Empire State Building and with Elmo from Sesame Street in Times Square.

McKellen, 74, said the partnership was highly satisfying. “I’ve never been happier professionally. This is something we set up ourselves, we’ve got to know each other extremely well, we feel like a family and it’s always fun.”

Critics were similarly enthusiastic. Ben Brantley, influential critic of the New York Times, raved: “These productions find the pure entertainment value in existential emptiness. I have never before heard American audiences respond to any production of Pinter or Beckett with such warm and embracing laughter.”

The Associated Press described the production as presenting “two knights at their peerless best” while Entertainment Weekly raved “McKellen and Stewart deliver a masterclass in acting”.

McKellen said US audiences laugh more at Waiting for Godot than West End theatregoers: “New York audiences so far have been more like the regions in the UK. You never quite know who in London is going to see you because there are a lot of tourists.”

Orlando Bloom, Liv Tyler and Alan Cumming saw the performances at Manhattan’s Cort Theatre.