Derren Brown ‘terrified’ after audience member falls from balcony

Derren Brown is more used to giving his audience shocks than receiving them, but on Saturday night (3 August 2013) the roles were reversed.

Brown has spoken of his horror after an audience member fell from the steeply raked upper balcony of the West End’s Palace Theatre during his show Infamous on Saturday night

The man, who was reportedly pushed by his wife “as a joke”, fell 15ft before managing to grab hold of the lighting rig.

After the show Brown took to Twitter to report what happened.

“Tonight a woman pushed her hubby as a joke from the front of the balcony,” he wrote.

“He fell and caught the upper circle on the way down, and was hanging from it. He’s fine, but what a finale. Sending best thoughts to him and his wife, terrifying.”

The top tier of the Palace, one of the West End’s oldest and most prestigious venues, is 45ft up and is steeply raked.

An eyewitness told The Sun newspaper, “He hit the lights and grabbed the bar with one arm. Three or four guys ran down the steps and pulled him back. A few inches to one side and there would have been nothing to break the fall.”

A spokesperson for Nimax Theatres, which owns the Palace, told WhatsOnStage: “At present we are investigating the incident and are unable to comment until the investigation is complete.”

Also among the audience on Saturday night were Hollywood stars Glenn Close, John C Reilly and Russell Brand.

Derren Brown Infamous opened at the Palace on 24 June and continues until 17 August.