WHILE “BREAK a leg” is theatre-speak for good luck, it was taken a bit too literally by actress Lorna McDevitt before a performance of The Magistrate at Pitlochry Festival Theatre recently.

Perhaps someone committed the cardinal theatre sin of wishing her “good luck” because, just before going on, she had a fall outside her dressing room, twisting her ankle.

Despite being in some pain, she sailed through the show on Thursday afternoon but by lunchtime the next day, it was clear her painful and heavily swollen ankle required medical attention.

With the staff at PRI ordering Lorna off her feet for the next 48 hours, the matinee performance of The Magistrate on Saturday afternoon was immediately under threat.

PFT’s senior management team decided to take immediate action but rather than sending another actor on with the script—as sometimes happens—they ordered up an entirely different show instead.

PFT’s Box Office immediately got to work to inform the audience that the next day, instead of coming to see a Victorian farce, they would be coming to see Ayckbourn’s contemporary thriller, Snake In The Grass.

PFT’s Artistic Director John Durnin said, “We felt it simply wouldn’t be appropriate to send on a replacement actress with the book at such short notice.

“PFT’s unique repertoire system meant that could opt for an entirely different play—Snake In The Grass —when most theatres facing this predicament would simply have had to cancel the performance.

“Audience members were delighted that we were able to offer them an alternative performance at such short notice, under difficult circumstances.

“I would like to thank all of the PFT staff involved in getting information about the programme change to our patrons, the cast of Snake In The Grass and last, but never least, our patrons, for their appreciation, support and great good spirits.”