10 performances that led to tragedy in real life

2024 Author: Richard Flannagan | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-15 23:55

Going to the theater, people are in the mood for a pleasant rest and vivid positive impressions. But history knows of cases when events on the stage took a dramatic (and not at all according to the script of the play) turn. In our review of 10 performances that claimed the lives of people.

1. "Imaginary patient"

The greatest satirist of the 18th century, Moliere, not only created plays, but also played in them. His last played role was the role of Argan in "The Imaginary Sick." On February 17, 1673, right on the stage during the second act, Moliere, suffering from tuberculosis, coughed up blood, but managed to finish his performance. After the performance, he was taken home, where he died.

2. "Macbeth"

Macbeth has long been considered a cursed play in the theater community. The directors tried not to pronounce the original title aloud, but said "A Scottish Play". According to legend, the first tragedy associated with the play happened in 1611, when a young man who was supposed to play the role of Lady Macbeth fell ill with a fever and died before the performance. And this is far from the only case of deaths associated with this performance. Already in our time, in 1970, 32-year-old George Ostrosk had a heart attack during the performance, and he died right on the stage.

3. "Mary Stuart"

On December 18, 2008, the production of Maria Stuart was staged at the Burgtheater in Vienna. The role of Mortimer, trying to free the queen from prison, was played by Daniel Hovels. In the story, Mortimer commits suicide in the first act when his plans fail. During this scene, Hovels, as expected, grabbed a knife to "cut" his throat. And then it turned out that the knife was real. Fortunately, the doctors managed to save the actor.

4. "Passion"

In October 2010, The Passion was staged at London's Donmar Warehouse. During one of the final scenes of the play, the character Colonel Ricci (actor David Birrell) participates in a duel with pistols. When Birrell fired his pistol, a shrapnel flew into his right eye. The actor was immediately taken to the hospital, and the production was canceled. The actor lost one eye and then filed a lawsuit against the theater.

5. "Waiting for Godot"

Waiting for Godot is one of the most famous plays by Samuel Beckett. The plot of the play cannot be called dynamic: Vladimir and Estragon are sitting and waiting for Godot, who will never come. But on November 26, 2003, during the performance, a tragedy struck: 64-year-old Scottish actor Jordan Reed became ill with his heart. He collapsed on the stage as if knocked down. Shortly before his death, Reed said that he was "poor as a church mouse, but he loves everything he has done so far and would never have lived his life differently."

6. "The Passion of Christ"

April 6, 2012 (Good Friday) Thiago Klimek, 27, acted as Judas Iscariot in The Passion of the Christ at the Itarara Theater (Brazil). In one of the final scenes in the play, Judas is hanged after betraying Jesus. Something went wrong that day, and a noose really got caught on Klimek's neck. He hung out for four minutes before people realized that tragedy had happened. The actor was taken out of the noose and taken to the hospital. He was in a coma for two weeks and died.

7. "Jesus Christ Superstar"

Klimek is not the only person who died as Judas Iscariot. The life of Anthony Wheeler, who played in the rock opera "Jesus Christ Superstar", also ended tragically. On August 17, 1997, the 26-year-old actor hanged himself on the stage of a Greek theater, incorrectly fastening his seat belts.

8. The Little Mermaid

On May 10, 2008, in the Disney production of The Little Mermaid on Broadway, 51-year-old Adrian Bailey walked across a bridge that was on stage as a stage set and fell through a hatch accidentally left open by stage workers. The actor fell from a height of 10.5 meters, breaking both wrists, pelvis and back.

9. School nativity scene

People who had nothing to do with the theater also became victims of theatrical performances. Drilling rig worker Lee Wilkinson learned that his wife had an affair with a certain Michael Dent. On December 6, 2011, Wilkinson, in a not-so-good mood, went to the school where three of his children were studying to watch a nativity scene where the children were performing. But I saw Dent among the spectators. The school party ended in a massive brawl that resulted in Wilkinson being arrested and spent 11 months in jail for assault.

10. "Bluebeard"

On December 30, 1903, Bluebeard was staged at the recently opened Theater of the Iroquois (USA). Suddenly, a fire broke out, in which 603 people died due to the stampede, and many were burned.

And further…

The seemingly quite cheerful performance "The Marriage of Figaro" became fatal for the popular Soviet actor Andrei Mironov. On August 14, 1987, the performance "Figaro" was staged at the Riga Opera House, where Mironov played the main role. Just a few minutes before the final, he uttered his line and settled in the arms of Alexander Shirvindt. Stroke. Already unconscious in the ambulance, he whispered the words of Figaro, which he did not manage to utter on stage.

Andrei Mironov was not only a theatrical, but a film actor. We remembered 20 quotes from movie characters by Andrey Mironov about women and love that will definitely make you smile. After all, life is beautiful.