>These Things Do ‘Appen

>And until you stoppa these things ‘appening, this thing does not ‘appen.

Thus says Carlotta in The Phantom of the Opera and I wonder if the cast of Spiderman: Turn Off The Dark have considered having a similar strop. (And if the reporting on Natalie Mendoza is correct – they just might!)

Not a days goes by where there is not some commentary on the new Broadway Spiderman musical in the media or wider theatre industry and it is very true that there is more than an element of schadenfreude in reading event unfolding. There’s plenty to get excited and vocal about; massive investment, extended previews, high ticket prices, opening night delays and, most notably, the accidents.

I have been intrigued by the reactions to the cast injuries which have included a demand for the show to be closed. There may be many reasons why a show should be closed, but a few accidents is not one of them. I am not saying that a cast, or anyone who works on a show, shouldn’t work in safety or be protected. Nor am I saying that it isn’t terrible that these accidents happened.

But….

Theatre should push boundaries and should try new things. That involves risk and sometimes the risk includes physical risk to performers.

Theatre has never been safe. Risk cannot be eradicated, it just needs to be assessed, calculated and taken with good knowledge. If the Spiderman team have failed in some aspect, it might be here. It might not. Either way, you cannot work in theatre without resigning yourself to the fact that sooner or later you might get hurt. If you are stunt double for a performer, those stunts involve risk.

Lots of shows have some element of danger and have had accidents. Other bloggers have mentioned Idina Menzel’s fall through a trap-door, Shoshana Bean’s stumble into the orchestra pit (twice) and the Lord of the Rings accident. I will wager that Starlight Express had it’s fair share of bumps and bruises. These shows didn’t close and neither should this one.

Haven’t people ever heard of the expression “break a leg”? No business like show business.