Jodie Comer’s stand-in had to take over during the Prima Facie performance – after the Liverpudlian started coughing and complaining she couldn’t breathe as New York was engulfed in smoke.
Jodie Comer was forced to pull out of a matinee performance of a Broadway show after experiencing breathing difficulties due to air pollution caused by wildfires in Canada.
The one-woman Prima Facie performance was stopped after about 10 minutes after the 30-year-old actor from Liverpool started coughing and told a stage manager he couldn’t breathe.
Came as thick smoke poured over the USA East Coast and Midwest of Canada, causing dangerous levels of pollution.
The Environmental Protection Agency said Wednesday that the state’s air quality is “unhealthy” and citizens are being warned to limit outdoor activity.
US skies darkened by wildfires in Canada
A spokesperson for the show said: “Today’s matinee of Prima Facie was stopped approximately 10 minutes into the performance Jody Comer had difficulty breathing due to poor air quality in New York due to smoke from wildfires in Canada.
“The show had to start over again with Danny Arlington understudying Mrs. Comer as Tessa.”
Comer, also known for her role in the thriller series Killing Eve, stars as British lawyer Tessa and was recently nominated for a Tony Award for her Broadway debut.
The play secured four Tony Award nominations at the 2023 ceremony after receiving critical acclaim in London’s West End, including Comer winning Best Actress at the 2023 Olivier Awards.
Canadian officials were left begging other countries for help to deal with more than 400 wildfires across the country in what was called the nation’s worst wildfire season.
Many Canadian citizens were evacuated, including 7,500 in Chibougamau, the largest city in northern Quebec, and about 4,000 residents of the Cree town of Mistisini.
Smoke traveling to the US has recently intensified, with about 100 fires believed to be out of control in Quebec.
The unhealthy air stretched as far as North Carolina and Indiana, affecting millions of people, many of whom have begun wearing pandemic-era face masks.
Zach Taylor, a meteorologist with the US National Weather Service, said the weather conditions were essentially funneling smoke into the US.
He said rain should help clear the air in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic this weekend and early next week, although more relief will come from containing or extinguishing the fires.