I thought I was dying like my character says 'terrified' Steve

Published on Saturday 3 May 2008 11:06

AN actor who collapsed on stage as his character was due to have a fatal heart attack has relived the "terrifying" moment he thought he might be dying.

The audience was asked to leave Musselburgh's Brunton Theatre after Steve Dineen suffered a suspected heart attack in mid-performance last Thursday. He has since made a full recovery.

His medical scare came as his character – Laurence in the comedy drama Abigail's Party – was supposed to be dying of a heart attack.

"The supreme irony is that everything that was happening to me, symptom-wise and signs-wise is exactly what happens to Laurence," said Mr Dineen.

"Laurence zones out, he becomes less communicative, he is prone to being unresponsive. So no-one was particularly surprised. Everything was exactly the same in terms of outward appearances until I was on my back on the floor.

"At that point my body just took over and it felt as though it was shutting me down. I really did think I was having a heart attack. It felt exactly like it, I was numb and tingling and that is when it started spreading up, washing up through my body and all over my face. I was just terrified and that is when I asked them to stop."

An ambulance was called and Dineen was treated on stage after the audience had left the auditorium.

He was taken to Edinburgh Royal Infirmary for tests and was discharged in the early hours of yesterday morning.

"I have been given a clean bill of health, I feel much much better," Dineen said. "It was muscular-skeletal stress and strain from who knows what – nothing more sinister than that.

"It is extremely painful and is likely to continue for a fortnight. So we just have to be careful not to put any stress on my ribcage."

The experience of suffering from exactly the kind of extreme accident on stage that your character is suffering is the stuff of every actor's darkest nightmares.

Fortunately for Dineen everyone on stage knew he was serious and knew exactly what to do.

"That was the most surreal and bizarre experience of my acting career by some margin," Dineen said.

"When the feeling swept over me when I was lying on my back I was just praying that it didn't reach my head and feet because then I thought that would be it.

"It was very scary, but thanks to the attentions of everyone there, those fears and terrors went shortly after the debilitating effects of what was happening went."