Comic stuck mid-air as Christmas Carol stage effect fails

Adrian Edmondson was left suspended in mid-air for 15 minutes when a stage effect went wrong last week.

The comic was playing Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol when he was lifted 8ft off the ground in a four-poster bed.

But the hydraulics at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon jammed, leaving him stuck until a stagehand could rescue him with a stepladder.

Audience members praised the former Young Ones star for making jokes about the situation last Thursday, while remaining in character.

When help did arrive, the audience broke out into applause, promoting  Edmondson to remonstrate, jokingly: ‘Don't be sarcastic, you lot.’

One theatregoer told The Sun: ‘We felt like, we were part of something hilariously unique.’

A spokesperson for the Royal Shakespeare Company confirmed to Chortle: ‘The show was stopped for 15 minutes due to a problem with the movement of the bed which is raised above stage level.

‘The automation issue was swiftly resolved, and the show restarted with the audience enjoying a recap from Adrian Edmondson who plays Scrooge.

It’s not the first time Edmondson has needed rescuing from a height. Last year, the fire brigade came to his aidfrom this first-floor window ledge after he got trapped  cleaning windows in his West London home.

A Christmas Carol runs at Stratford until January 1.

Published: 28 Nov 2022