Local author releases historical book about deaths in the theatre- starring Jarrow and Sunderland

A local author has released a book all about the weird and tragic ways people have been killed in theatres across the UK with two of the events taking place in Jarrow and Sunderland respectively.

Chris Wood delves into the theatrical world to expose the dramatics that took place offstage in Death in the Theatre collating Britain’s theatrical murders, destruction and tragedies.

Amongst the twistedly humorous tales of actors being swallowed by lions and one poor fella literally being killed by the limelight are the catastrophic- namely The Victoria Hall Disaster in 1883 where around 183 children were killed, crushed after they were promised prizes on stage and a stampede ensued.

“The main reason I wanted to write the book was to try and remember these people and bring them back into consciousness,” says Chris.

“Theatres are buildings of high emotion, they have so much history.”

At the Jarrow Theatre Royal in 1911, an actor took his own life after being threatened with an insane asylum due to a pain in his head. The actor left a note, reading: ‘My dear friend, there is something in my head that is wanting to get out. I’ll give it a chance. The man in Newcastle said I was going to an asylum or be put under restraint or needed a long rest.

‘I’m now going to have it. I’m sorry to leave you all. Good luck and goodbye.’

Death in the Theatre isn’t Chris’ first book. In the same vein, his debut was all about people’s final words before they died. Death has somehow become Chris’ specialist topic, even writing regularly for the UK True Crime Podcast.

“I was finding out about all of these horrible cases and nobody knew about them, so why not try and bring them back to life? I love the theatre and I’ve always been interested in morbid things,” continued Chris.

Despite the harsh topic, Chris’ main driving force is his four-year-old daughter: “I wanted to write something for her and I know the subject isn’t great for her right now. But when she’s older, I certainly want her to have it on her shelf. And hopefully she’ll read it and then enjoy it.

Death in the Theatre is available to buy here.