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Man faints as Russell Tovey removes shirt mid-performance, halts Broadway show

By Troy Nankervis

For one New York theatregoer last weekend, A View from The Bridge was evidently close enough as Russell Tovey’s glistening bare chest and abdominals caused the patron to pass out during the performance of the Arthur Miller classic.

Davin Cutchall had driven six hours to enjoy a night out at the Lyceum Theater last Saturday (January 29) right up until the moment the British actor removed his shirt, when things became a little bit too overwhelming, reports the Daily Mail.

After fainting in the stalls, the show was temporarily stopped as patrons around the man – concerned he was suffering a heart attack – called for a doctor with emergency services arriving soon after and transporting Cutchall to the nearest hospital.

Omar Gonzalez-Pagan was another patron in the theatre at the time and said the incident happened about three quarters of the way into the show and disrupted the performance for around 15 minutes, Playbill reports.

“Audience members from the stage seating [house right] yelled that someone was having a heart attack,” he said.

“Once the man was taken away, the show resumed a few minutes after. The staff of the theatre, the audience and everyone acted quite responsibly.”

Cutchall later tweeted from hospital, saying that he was cleared by doctors, was “feeling much better”, also apologising to Tovey for disrupting the show.

Back on his feet the following day, Cutchall caught the Sunday matinee of the show without any further incidents.

While Tovey has yet to respond to Cutchall, viewers from across social media reached out with well wishes.

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