Paramedics called after drunk student actors staged ‘Shit-Faced Shakespeare’ show

A student drama group is under investigation after its actors got so drunk they needed urgent medical treatment from paramedics during a performance of Shakespeare. Members the Sussex University Drama Society were sick on stage, smashed the set and had to be held up by sober friends during the booze-fuelled rendition of the Bard.

The group were staging Shit-Faced Shakespeare, with actors deliberately getting drunk while reciting scenes from Macbeth and A Midsummer’s Night Dream. Audiences were invited to watch them “tripping, laughing and fruitlessly trying to remember their lines while the rest of the cast desperately cover up their failings”. The stunt went too far, however, when one female member of the troupe in her early 20s got so drunk an ambulance had to be called.



Jacob Jackson, president of the society, has now been banned from all campus bars following the carnage and the incident is being investigated by the Student Union. He and publicity officer Rachael Welsh both stepped down from their positions in the wake of the scandal. The venue, the Falmer Back Bar on the campus in Falmer, East Sussex, cancelled the third night performance after being told it was in danger of losing its licence.

Kit Bradshaw, communications officer for the University of Sussex Students' Union, said: 'SUDS staged a show in Falmer Bar on the University of Sussex campus on Monday, 19 November and Tuesday, 20 November. Due to a number of incidents during those performances, the final night's show, due to take place on Wednesday, 21 November, was cancelled. The Students' Union has launched a full official investigation into the matter and therefore it would be inappropriate for us to comment further at this stage.'