A patron attending the first night of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival has tragically died during the opening show.
Ambulances were seen outside the Palais Theatre in St Kilda on Wednesday night after the Opening Night Comedy Allstars Supershow was abruptly cancelled mid-show due to a medical emergency in the venue’s upper level.
It’s understood a man suffered a suspected heart attack early on during the show.
Police confirmed the man, who’s yet to be formally identified, couldn’t be revived and died at the scene.
Shocked patrons were informed the show would not continue during the unfolding medical emergency.
‘The show was stopped and cancelled. The festival will be in touch with all ticket holders tomorrow,’ event organisers posted online.
Emergency services were called to the venue after patrons alerted ushers to the unfolding incident.
One attendee told Daily Mail Australia that the situation was ‘very distressing’ and that members of the public initially provided CPR in the dark as headline act Michael Hing continued his performance, unaware of the medical emergency.
The opening night (pictured) of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival ended mid-show after a patron suffered a suspected heart attack and died
Comedian Michael Hing (above) hosted the the opening night of the festival which featured ‘a star-studded line-up’
‘[It] would have been at least 15 mins worth before the show stopping, and [it] only stopped as patrons yelled to stop performing,’ the patron said.
Another attendee claimed that the show continued even after paramedics arrived.
‘People started to get up and leave. I saw people in tears and comforting each other,’ he told Daily Mail Australia.
‘No one was laughing for paying real attention to the stage, maybe only to see if someone would come out and stop the show.
‘It was only when a few people, who were leaving, got up and were loudly talking or arguing with a staff member before leaning over and shouting at the comedian on stage to stop the show that anything happened.
‘The public and paramedics were there for a good 15-20 minutes in the dark doing CPR before the show stopped.
‘I can’t believe they (the organisers) didn’t communicate with backstage to halt the show, and that it took the public to yell out to the comedian to stop for something to happen.’
Another attendee told Daily Mail Australia she was further away from the incident but vaguely made sense of the situation by the sound of the defibrillator in the dark.
Comedians including Dave Hughes (pictured) expressed their shock and sadness
‘[When the ambulance workers got there] you could hear the defibrillator sounds from across the room. Lighting was dark though – still light enough to see that a lady and man were interchanging doing chest compressions,’ she said.
‘While this was happening, the show was still going on until a man yelled from the audience – somewhere from the dress circle – to stop the show, followed by another guy yelling, ‘someone is dying’.
‘Straight after that is when we started to see those on stage actually take action and pause the show.
‘Honestly, the delay in communication from staff is the most disappointing bit. It really robbed someone of their dignity.’
Former Victorian Premier Steve Bracks was also among the patrons in attendance, The Age reported.
Victoria Ambulance, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and Palais Theatre were contacted for comment.
The ‘Supershow’ marked the start of the month-long festival, a major event on the Melbourne calendar.
The festival attracts ‘a star-studded line-up featuring comedy royalty from around the globe’, this year hosted by Hing.
Well-known comedians took to social media late Wednesday night to share their shock and sadness.
‘All performers thoughts are with the family affected,’ Dave Hughes said.
The iconic Melbourne venue was left empty on Wednesday night as crowds headed home in tears
Tahir Bilgiç added: ‘Sad news but correctly handled all round … well done everyone and thoughts with those involved.
Other shocked patrons later took to social media to express their distress.
‘I was at the other end of the row and can’t stop thinking about it,’ one wrote.
Another added: ‘Awful to witness tonight.’
Others slammed the venue and event organisers on how the tragic incident was handled.
‘Was very distressing for all in attendance. Very poor that the show continued for 15mins while compressions took place with only patrons yelling to stop the show while crew attended to the person,’ one wrote.
‘Palais should review their emergency management response plans so this is handled better in the future.’
Another added: ‘There were plenty of staff there. ‘It was poorly handled, and I feel very sorry for the man and his family [and] friends that they had to put up with the inept management while going through the worst possible situation and his last moments.’
