Breaking a leg on stage is meant to be an actor’s worst nightmare but for Simon Russell Beale it was his finger that proved his undoing.
The award-winning actor slipped and fell during a particularly intense scene in Timon of Athens at the National Theatre, bringing the show to a dramatic halt.
Initially the audience did not realise anything was wrong as Beale carried on with his lines despite being in a great deal of pain.
Then he calmly turned and said: “I’m sorry, I think I’ve broken my finger,” before walking off-stage and being taken to hospital — where he was diagnosed with a dislocated finger.
Beale’s understudy, Paul Dodds, who was about to go on in a minor role as a thief, was then hurriedly rushed to change costume to step into his shoes.
Dodds took to the stage as Timon to loud applause and gave a performance described as “cracking”, “fantastic” and “wonderful”, according to audience members who took to Twitter to sing his and the rest of the cast’s praises.
Beale today said he was “amazed” at Dodds’s ability to step into the breach and said he deserved “huge credit”.
A show insider told how despite the pain Beale insisted on showering and changing out of his costume before heading to St Thomas’ Hospital as the fall happened when Timon is homeless and dressed in dirty ragged clothes.
Dodds, who describes himself as a “jobbing actor”, said taking over from Beale was the most “nerve-racking” yet “exhilarating” experience of his career. He added: “The audience and the actors were fantastic. “I got a loud round of applause when I went on and the emotional intensity just carried me through.
“There were a few moments I thought ‘I haven’t a clue what the next line is’, but they just came out when I spoke.”
Beale is due to return tonight.
