On the mend. After fainting in the middle of his theatrical performance, Taron Egerton issued a statement about how he’s feeling.
“As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night,” the Rocketman star, 32, wrote via Instagram Story on Sunday, March 6. “I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego but I’m fine.”
He jokingly continued: “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 I gave such a committed, electrifying performance that my body couldn’t handle it and I checked out. 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.”
The England native fainted on London’s Ambassador Theatre stage mid-scene before a doctor in the audience came to his aid while the show took a 40-minute intermission, according to the Independent. Director Marianne Elliott then appeared on stage, telling the crowd the actor was “absolutely fine” and the last 15 minutes of the show would resume with an understudy playing Egerton’s part.
“Thank you to the amazing team at the theatre and my wonderful castmates for being so lovely,” the Sing 2 voice actor added in his social media statement. “But mainly I wanted to say thanks 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.”
During the inaugural performance of COCK, Egerton played the boyfriend of Bridgerton’s Jonathan Bailey. In the Mike Bartlett-penned production, Bailey’s John questions his sexuality and relationship with his longtime boyfriend after meeting a woman. Jade Anouka and Phil Daniels also star.
“Three weeks into rehearsing for @cocktheplayldn and having the best time,” Egerton wrote via Instagram on February 10. “I knew it would be hard work preparing for COCK but I had no idea COCK would be so much fun. You can come and see COCK from March 5th to June 4th; come along and I promise you too will love COCK.”
The story first premiered at London’s Royal Court Theatre in 2009 with Ben Whishaw and Andrew Scott before earning a coveted Olivier Award the following year for Outstanding Achievement in an Affiliate Theatre. A revival briefly ran at New York’s The Duke on 42nd Street in 2012.
“It’s the story of a young gay couple who have been together for a number of years,” Egerton — who’s making his West End debut in the show — explained during a February appearance on The Graham Norton Show. “They end up taking a break — it’s very Ross and Rachel [from FRIENDS]. One of them sleeps with somebody else and it transpires that that person is a woman. And what happens is they all try to get together and have a chat about it. It’s very, very funny and actually very moving.”
