Rocketman star collapses on stage, mid-performance

Egerton and Sir Elton John together in 2019. Photo: Getty
Taron Egerton has reassured fans he is ācompletely fineā after fainting during the first night of his new West End play.
The Rocketman star, 32, is starring alongside Jonathan Bailey in a revival of Mike Bartlettās 2009 play Cock at Londonās Ambassadors Theatre.
During Saturday nightās first preview, he fainted on stage and was attended to by a doctor in the audience.
Egertonās understudy Joel Harper-Jackson stepped in and the cast were able to finish the play.
Egerton released a statement via Instagram promising to return to the show on Monday night (local time)
āAs some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of Cock last night,ā he posted.
āI am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego but Iām fine.
āIāve 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 couldnāt handle it and checked out.
āThat being said, apparently youāre meant to actually do the full show and not just three quarters of it. So Iāll be back with a vengeance tomorrow night.ā
He also praised Harper-Jackson as āan amazing actor and a lovely personā, adding: āThank you Joel.ā
On Sunday, Harper-Jackson wrote on Twitter that taking Egertonās place on stage had been āan absolute privilegeā.
āTaron is a true gentleman, has been so supportive & most importantly heās okay & will be back on Monday,ā he posted.
Tweet from @JoelHarperJacks
A statement from the production said: āDuring yesterday eveningās first preview of Mike Bartlettās play Cock at the Ambassadors Theatre, Taron Egerton fainted towards the end of the performance.
āA doctor who was in the audience attended to Taron immediately after the incident, and whilst he felt fine, it was decided that Taronās understudy, Joel Harper-Jackson would continue in the role to complete the performance.ā
Egerton is perhaps most famous for playing Sir Elton John in the 2019 film about the superstarās life, Rocketman.
-AAP








