By Cherry Wilson

cherry.wilson@essnmedia.co.uk

WHEN actor Paul Hudson was chosen to play the lead character in a farce in which everything goes wrong he took the role a little too seriously.

The 37-year-old broke his right collar bone while performing a stunt in which he had to trip over a box and fall down some stairs at the Fairfield Halls.

Paul, a member of the Croydon Operatic and Dramatic Association, was playing Garry Lejeune in Noises Off when he suffered his real-life mishap on May 20.

The play focuses on a theatre company which is staging a farce in which everything that can go wrong actually does.

Despite his injury, Paul managed to carry on in the best theatrical spirit until the end of the show before going to Mayday Hospital where it was revealed he had snapped his collar bone.

He did not want to spoil the play so bravely stayed in character until the curtain call.

"I've been rehearsing for months and I managed to get through a matinee and three dress rehearsals without any problems," Paul explained.

"It happened on the first night of the performance.

"I carried out the fall the same as before but I heard something snap.

"I felt the break but I thought 'I can finish the performance'. I thought it would be a shame to spoil the play.

"When I came off stage I had to sit down and I could hear my shoulder crunching and grinding.

"I went to the hospital and the doctor told me I had snapped my collar bone in two."

Paul, from Croham Road, South Croydon, had put countless hours into learning his lines after securing the lead role.

But after learning that the break would take eight weeks to heal he was unable to complete the subsequent performances scheduled for May 21 and 22.

However, his fellow cast members rallied round and performed the show three times with the play's director Alex Murphy taking over from Paul in the role.

Paul praised his fellow actors for managing to complete the play in his absence.

"The play is one of the best and most well-known farces," he said. "It's difficult to learn, because of the timings, to get the stunts right. The company had a big job to do in pulling together and carrying on without me.

"But they did a fantastic job."