Taron Egerton is on the mend after he collapsed on stage during the inaugural performance of his new play Cock over the weekend. Hours after the curtain came down early at the Ambassadors Theatre in London, the 32-year-old star took to social media to provide fans with a health update, assuring them that he is “completely fine” following the scary incident.
In a lengthy message posted to his Instagram Story Sunday morning, Egerton confirmed, “As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night.” Egerton went on to share that he is “completely fine” aside from a “slightly sore neck and a bruised ego.” Egerton went on to make light of the situation, adding that he has “decided to put a positive spin” on the scary incident.
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“I’ve decided to put a positive spin on it and I would appreciate it if anyone who was in the theatre last night just said that I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn’t handle it and checked out,” he joked. “That being said, apparently you’re meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. So I’ll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night.”
Egerton also expressed his gratitude for “the amazing team at the theatre and my wonderful cast mates for being so lovely.” He also gave a special shoutout to Joel Harper Jackson, “who stepped in to do the last bit of the play. Joel is an amazing actor and a lovely person. Thank you Joel. T x” Egerton later returned to social media to share a video of himself jamming out to Simple Minds’ 1985 song “Alive and Kicking,” writing, “[Radio 6 Music] soundtracking my life.”
Egerton’s update came shortly after he sparked concern during the first performance of the play Cock on Saturday night. According to audience members at the theater, per the Independent, Egerton’s co-stars stopped the opening night performance and a safety curtain went down after the actor collapsed in the middle of his performance. Following a 40-minute break, director Marianne Elliott appeared on stage and told the crowd that while Egerton was “absolutely fine,” his understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson, would continue in his place. The play’s production later released a statement confirming, “Egerton fainted towards the end of the performance. A doctor who was in the audience attended to Taron immediately after the incident, and whilst he felt fine.”
Cock follows a gay couple whose relationship is upended when one falls in love with a woman. Egerton stars as M, the boyfriend of Bridgerton actor Jonathan Bailey’s character, John. The Mike Bartlett show originally premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2009. It is scheduled to continue with its next performance on March 7 before the show officially opens on March 15.
