West End Actor Injured by Prop Gun

[Footer]

From BBC News: BBC News - Stage actor David Birrell injured by replica weapon

David Birrell, who was appearing in Passion at the Donmar Warehouse, suffered an eye injury after the weapon misfired during a duel scene.

Performances at the Covent Garden venue have been cancelled until Thursday and further investigations into the incident are being carried out.

Birrell, who completed his performance, is said to be in good spirits.

A Donmar spokesman said the eye injury was caused by debris from the licensed replica during Saturday's matinee show.

"In addition to investigating the matter, our priorities at this time are to David's well being and recovery," he said.

 

[Van]

Darn ! You beat me to it ! I saw the story on BBC earlier today. Not a lot of info in any of the sources I could find. Oddly, some sources say it was a misfire, some say it was a malfunction, others say it was an accident. I'll keep my eyes open for more info on this one. As we are doing Lt. of Inishmore this year I'm a little hyper-sensitive to gun issues right now...

 

[Footer]

Even blanks throw stuff out. Usually, something comes dislodged off the gun and goes flying. One more reason to replace guns often and inspect them for any problem every show.

 

[erichart]

The article in The Daily Mail has a bit more information:
Actor David Birrell injured after being shot in eye during on-stage duel | Mail Online

David Birrell, 35, may lose the sight in his right eye after the freak accident which happened during a matinee performance of Stephen Sondheim’s musical Passion at the critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse.
The actor was shot in the face with a prop gun during a scene where his character, Colonel Ricci, challenges another to a duel. The gun was supposed to fire blanks.

I don't know what else to add, since it seems repetitive to say that guns are dangerous. They should only be used when a qualified professional is in charge of their usage. Here in New York City, we need a licensed pyrotechnician to use guns with blanks that fire; for certain replica weapons (even non-firing ones) you need a license just to transport them to and from the theatre. Even if your locale does not require actual licenses, you should still act with as such when dealing with guns.