The Stage

Dineen collapses on stage during heart attack scene

Published Friday 2 May 2008 at 14:10 by Thom Dibdin

Actor Steve Dineen collapsed on stage last night just minutes before the end of a performance of Abigail’s Party at the Brunton Theatre in Musselburgh.

In a case of life imitating art, the actor, who had been playing Laurence in the London Classic Theatre touring production, collapsed while performing the scene in which his character suffers a heart attack at the climax of the play.

Dineen was treated on stage and found to be in a stable condition by paramedics, but was taken to nearby Royal Infirmary of Edinburgh where he was kept in for further tests. These revealed that Dineen’s collapse was caused by muscular stress and strain, and not a heart attack, as was initially feared.

Speaking to The Stage today, Dineen said: “Everything that was happening to me, symptom-wise and signs-wise, is exactly what happens to Laurence. He does zone out, he becomes less communicative, he is prone to being unresponsive. So no one was particularly surprised and I don’t think my performance was any different than it has been since we have been doing this. Everything was exactly the same in terms of outward appearances until I keeled over.”

He added: “At that point, my body just took over and it felt as though it was shutting me down. I really did think I was having a heart attack. It felt exactly like it, I was numb and tingling and that is when it started spreading up, washing up through my body, all over my face, this feeling of numbness. I was just terrified, and so that is when I asked them to stop.”

Dineen had told his co-star Anna Kirke, who plays Susan in the show, that he had not been feeling well just minutes before his collapse. When the incident happened, she called a halt to the performance and asked if there was a doctor present.

Dineen has now been given a clean bill of health and is set to perform in the production tonight as normal.

Director Michael Cabot of London Classic Theatre said: “He is a complete professional, I know he wouldn’t stop a show unless he was feeling terrible. Steve has done over 120 performances as Laurence and he has always been very, very strong and very consistent.”