Man has suspected heart attack during RSC performance of Julius Caesar

A MAN in his 60s suffered a suspected heart attack during a performance of Julius Caesar at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre on Thursday night.

The performance stopped when actor James Corrigan – who plays Mark Antony – noticed a distraction in the stalls of the theatre’s main house towards the end of the first half of the play.

A stage manager made the decision to take an early interval so that RSC staff could help assist the suspected heart attack victim who was also treated by a nurse and two doctors who happened to be in the audience.

Paramedics were called to the scene at 8.45pm and the man was given oxygen and further treatment before being taken to University Hospital Coventry and Warwickshire.

The performance of Julius Caesar resumed after a 50 minute interlude and picked up from the point where it was stopped when the emergency occurred.