At a Wednesday night showing of The Years – Annie Ernaux’s play at the Harold Pinter – the front of house stops the show halfway through as someone has fainted in the Royal Circle.
“This happens all the time,” a woman to my right says to her neighbour. The play has been paused mid-way through a graphic scene of the protagonist having a miscarriage after a back-street abortion in 1960s Paris. There is stage blood everywhere. The actors (five women) stand silently in the shadows of the stage, heads bowed, while the audience member in the Royal Circle is escorted out. Several other people in our section also get up and leave, pale faces hidden under scarves.
After about five minutes the play resumes. The actor resumes her monologue without a beat missed.
After the show, A shares she heard a rumour the stoppage was staged.
“Think about it, the running time is one hour fifty five minutes. Tonight’s show was 1hr 55 minutes but we were stopped for seven minutes, I counted.”
Gordon MacRae Blog 
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