Steven Dineen in “Abigail’s Party”

Actor Steve Dineen was on stage about to perform a scene in “Abigail’s Party” where his character suffered a heart attack when all of a sudden he actually suffered one. Dineen suddenly collapsed. The audience looked at Dineen’s attack thinking it was just the actor’s impressive performance. Luckily, his co-star Alice Selwyn figured out it was not an act and asked the audience for a doctor.

During the scene, Dineen felt sick and told a fellow cast member.

“During the dance Steve had whispered to Anna Kirke who plays Sue,” said Cabot. “He told her ‘I’m not feeling so great’ and she said ‘Are you feeling well enough to carry on?’ and he said ‘I think so, yes’.”

“When it became clear to some of the other actors that he wasn’t acting any more and that he was in some distress, they asked for the show to be halted. The ambulance was here in a matter of minutes.”

Dineen was taken to the Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and is expected to make a full recovery. Good thing his co-star figured out what was happening. It would been a crazy coincidence if he had died during the scene considering the character Dineen was playing, Laurence, was supposed to die from his attack. Members of the staff said “It was almost like real life imitating art.”

We wonder if audience quickly figured out what was happening. We can just imagine them sitting there thinking it was part of the show while Selwyn yelled for help. This guy was lucky someone figured out what was happening.

[Read here and here]

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