Italian actor Raphael Schumacher died in 2016 after a fatal on-stage hanging stunt at the Teatro Lux in Pisa, in front of an audience completely unaware he was dying.
Schumacher, 27, was performing in an experimental version of Mirages when the accident occurred. He had changed the scene from one where he was shot to one where he was hanged at the last minute.
Stunt went unnoticed until audience member intervened
No one realised a real-life tragedy was unfolding on stage until a member of the audience with medical training noticed he was in distress. The actor was discovered unconscious and severely oxygen-deprived and was rushed to hospital.
He did not respond to treatment, and doctors said he had suffered severe and probably irreversible brain damage. Schumacher was declared brain dead on February 5 2016, after spending five days in a coma.
Theatre director and source express shock
Gabriele De Luca, the art director at the theatre, told the Daily Mail at the time: “We are shocked. No one, not even us, understands how this happened and it will be up to the police to shed light on it.”
“The noose should have been fake and a harness should have caught him if he fell,” a source said. “I cannot explain how an incident like this happened.”
Last-minute script change and investigation outcome
De Luca told Italian newspaper Il Giorno that Schumacher changed the script, opting for the noose instead of gunshots. “The original monologue included a fake gunshot but he eventually decided for the hanging - without telling us,” he explained.
Following a six-hour procedure to establish brain death, the hospital issued a statement: “The family and the prosecutor's office have both authorised that his organs be donated, but their removal will be subject to a medical assessment to be performed in the course of the night.”
Schumacher's mother said: “My son recently lost his father and had ended a relationship but had found his serenity again. He didn't leave a suicide note and had no reason to kill himself.” An investigation later confirmed it was a tragic accidental asphyxiation, as per CBC.
