Theatre accident

Yet another college episode…

Theatre accidents are common during rehearsals…but what would happen if the accident happens as the play is going on and live audience watching (rather hearing) it?? Read on…

This was a Tamil play for 2.5 hrs!

The story was about how a guy goes behind wealth and ditches the girl he eloped with. The girl is helpless and finally finds refuge with one of the neighborhood sincere fella with the help of her ex-boyfriend’s friend! We were well-rehearsed and pretty professional by any amateur standards.

The stage used to be made by us, students. The raw stage would have partitions displaying a rich house on one side and the other side had an elevation to show a middle-class house with the ground floor occupied by the owner (ex-boyfriend’s friend) and the elevated first floor by the tenant (neighborhood sincere fella).

The stage was beautifully set up. The elevation was given by placing cots on top of each other. We had given a 5 cot level elevation. The height would measure up to some 15 feet above stage level!!!

Climax…the owner of the house (ex-boyfriend’s friend) to help this ditched, desolate girl tries to convince his sincere, single tenant guy to give her life by marrying her. My friend and co-actor, Dhaaru, did an exemplary job of displaying an array of emotions in convincing the other actor, KG. Once done, he was supposed to come down running, to let me (I was the lady-cast) know that his tenant has agreed to marry me.

The staircase runs behind the stage from the elevation, to the stage level. I was expecting Dhaaru next to me anytime and was all set to display an emotional outbreak. But all I heard was (and the audience too!) a huge ‘THUD’ sound! Dhaaru had fallen from the 15 feet level!. Instead of climbing down the stairs he had landed straight on the stage behind the curtains!! I was so shocked & nervous but could not show that. The play had gone on well so far. I was hoping nothing untoward had happened! I could hear the audience whisper, “hey, Dhaaru has fallen off the elevation”…there was so much silence in the auditorium!

Then appeared our fallen hero…panting, huffing, puffing, limping and leaping…to complete his dialogues! The play went on well till completion.

After the play, we heard him narrate what had happened. He said “Thankfully, my rotund body helped land safely!” What a sport!! And…thank God!