Actor collapses on stage for real during heart attack scene

A sick actor collapsed on stage - at the same time as his character was meant to have a heart attack and die.

Steve Dineen was taken to hospital after he keeled over during the dramatic finale of Mike Leigh's famous comedy Abigail's Party.

In the play, lead character Laurence dies of a heart attack in the final minutes and Dineen was moments away from acting out the death. So when he fell suddenly to the floor, the audience at Musselburgh's Brunton Theatre thought it was just part of his impressive performance.



But co-star Alice Selwyn noticed Dineen's struggle was genuine and came out of character to ask for a doctor.

The actor was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary and kept in overnight for tests which revealed that Dineen’s collapse was caused by muscular stress and strain, and not a heart attack, as was initially feared.

The theatre's marketing officer, Paul Brunton, said last night: "It was very traumatic at the time because it coincided with the exact moment where Steve's character was about to have a heart attack. It was almost like real life imitating art."