Rik pulled out on doctor's orders

A tour of the farce Balmoral has been cancelled after Rik Mayall left the cast.

The former Young Ones star left the production in Bath’s Theatre Royal last month on doctor’s orders after being taken ill during rehearsals.

Producers said they hoped to cast another actor in the starring role of Skinner before it began a regional tour - but now all those performances have been axed.

The tour had been due to visit Cambridge Arts Theatre, Oxford Playhouse, Norwich Theatre Royal, Kingston Rose, Clwyd Theatr Cymru, Devonshire Park Theatre and the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford.

Steve McNeil - who played one of the stooges in Brendon Burns’s if-comedy-winning show So I Suppose THIS Is Offensive Now – stepped in as Mayall’s understudy in the Bath run.

Balmoral, written by Michael Frayn, flopped when it was first performed in the Eighties, and there were suggestions the new revival was equally troubled. The play is set in 1937, after a revolution in Britain has deposed the Monarchy, turning Balmoral into a writers’ commune

A statement from the Bath theatre when Mayall first withdrew read: ‘It has been confirmed that the role of Skinner will no longer be played by Rik Mayall who was taken ill during rehearsals. Rik has been advised by his doctor to withdraw from the play and has regretfully agreed.’

Eleven years ago, Mayall spent five days in a coma after crashing a quadbike at his Devon home. And in 2007, he collapsed on stage during a performance of his West End version of The New Statesman. He pulled out of several dates in the regional tour later that year, again citing ill health.

Published: 17 Aug 2009