Scottish Express
BRIGHTON, England — A student drama group is under investigation after its actors got so drunk they needed urgent medical treatment from paramedics during a performance of Shakespeare.
Members of the Sussex University Drama Society were sick on stage, smashed the set and had to be held up by sober friends during the boozefuelled rendition of the Bard.
The group were staging S***-faced Shakespeare, with actors deliberately getting drunk while reciting scenes from Macbeth and A Midsummer’s Night Dream.
Audiences were invited to watch them “tripping, laughing and fruitlessly trying to remember their lines while the rest of the cast desperately cover up their failings”.
Photos show the actors with drinks lined up in front of them, before they drunkenly tumble around stage.
The stunt went too far, however, when one female member of the troupe in her early 20s got so drunk an ambulance had to be called.
Jacob Jackson, president of the society, has now been banned from all campus bars following the carnage and the incident is being investigated by the Student Union.
He and publicity officer Rachael Welsh both stepped down from their positions in the wake of the scandal.
The venue, the Falmer Bar on the campus in Falmer, East Sussex, cancelled the third night performance after being told it was in danger of losing its licence.
Mr Jackson insisted the production was still worthwhile. He said: “There’s a cast of 30 and on each of the nights myself and my co-director chose about seven to get drunk. They were, of course, to drink within reason.
The premise of the show is very good and every audience member who came said it was hilarious.”
A posting on the official Sussex University Drama Society Facebook page read: “Unfortunately Falmer Bar have decided to cancel tonight’s final performance of our Shakespeare experience. Needless to say the cast and crew are devastated.”
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