Two students were injured in a bizarre incident during a performance of a school play in Auckland, New Zealand yesterday.
Ambulance services were called to Saint Kentigern College in the city just after 9pm during the opening night of the school’s production of Sweeney Todd, the musical about a demon barber who slits the throats of his clients.
Radio NZ reports that two cast members suffered what were initially described as ‘neck injuries’ halfway through the
second act.
One student was seriously injured while the other had moderate injuries, but are now both in a stable condition.
The principal Steve Cole said that they could have in hindsight used a plastic prop razor but that the blade had been worn down and wrapped in duct tape so they assumed they had taken the correct precautions.
“They haven’t used that prop all the time, but the play has been rehearsed, doing scenes 40-50 times, and often with that prop, sometimes not, but the last six or seven dress rehearsals used that exact prop.”
The school is speaking with police and WorkSafe is also investigating.
A cast meeting is being held this afternoon to decide if the show will go on, and if so, what they’ll do differently to prevent it from happening again.
They’re nothing if not committed.
