Actress Jodie
Comer abruptly walked off stage during a Broadway performance on Wednesday
after saying she had trouble breathing due to wildfire smoke.
Comer's
one-woman show, Prima Facie, continued after her understudy stepped in to
complete the matinee performance.
Canada wildfire
smoke has blanketed New York City in recent days.
A performance of
Hamilton and several sports matches were postponed on Wednesday as residents
were advised to stay indoors or wear N95 masks outside.
"Today's
matinee of Prima Facie was halted approximately 10 minutes into the performance
after Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality in New
York City because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires," a spokesperson
for the production told The Hollywood Reporter.
Understudy Dani
Arlington replaced the Killing Eve star in the role of Tessa, completing the
roughly 100-minute performance and earning an enthusiastic applause, a witness
told Deadline.
The audience
member told Deadline that after about three minutes into her performance, Comer
coughed and called out to a stage manager: "I can't breathe this
air".
Reports on
social media and in Variety indicated Comer was helped off the stage by a
member of the production team.
By the time the
announcement was made that the actress would not return to the stage that
afternoon, some members of the audience had reportedly left their seats, with
many requesting new tickets for a future performance or for refunds.
On Twitter, one
audience member wrote: "We came to see Jodie Comer. She started [the]
show. Had to stop for air quality. Now want us to see understudy. What is
refund policy? Exchange? We came and paid high price to see Jodie."
Comer pictured
signing autographs for fans in New York after a recent appearance on The Late
Show With Stephen Colbert
Comer, who hails
from Liverpool in the UK, has received rave reviews for the show since its
debut in April.
In Prima Facie
she plays a barrister who defends people who have been accused of sexual
assault, but is then herself attacked by a colleague.
Comer has been
widely acclaimed for her performance in the play - she is nominated for best
actress at this Sunday's Tony Awards and has already won an Olivier.
The British
star, who has also appeared in The Last Duel and Free Guy, is due to continue playing
the role on Broadway until 2 July.
Smoke from
Canada has tinged the sky orange in New York and led to health warnings in
parts of Canada and the US northeast.
The Environment
Protection Agency has said the air quality in New York was
"unhealthy", and citizens were warned to limit outdoor activity.
Wednesday
evening's performances of Hamilton, at the Richard Rodgers Theatre, and and
Shakespeare in the Park's Hamlet, were among the shows cancelled due to the
poor air quality in New York.
Other venues to
be affected included the Vineyard Theatre, which cancelled Wednesday night's
performance of This Land Was Made.
The off-Broadway
theatre said the cancellation was "in the interest of prioritising the
health and safety of our audience members, performers, and staff".
Some parts of
Canada have been evacuated. About 7,500 people have left Chibougamau, the
largest town in northern Quebec and roughly 4,000 residents have fled the Cree
town, Mistissini.
Zach Taylor, a
US National Weather Service meteorologist, said the weather pattern meant smoke
was being funnelled into the US.
He said the air
should begin to clear after rain this weekend and early next week, adding
further relief would come from containing or extinguishing the fires.
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