Italian actor Raphael Schumacher was pronounced clinically dead following a staged “hanging” scene that went tragically awry last week, a spokesperson at Cisanello Hospital in Pisa said Friday.
Schumacher, 27, had been in a coma since Saturday night following his performance in an experimental theater production in Pisa’s Teatro Lux courtyard in Italy, according to the BBC. The production involved the actors and actresses performing in different parts of the theater while spectators moved around to view different scenes. The play’s script originally called for Schumacher’s character to die from a gunshot wound, but Schumacher allegedly changed the script last-minute to include a hanging instead.
The trouble reportedly began when one member of the audience noticed that the rope around Schumacher’s neck was far too tight, according to CNN. Although his head was covered at the time, the woman — who was allegedly also a medical student — rushed over to loosen the noose and lower him to the ground after she saw the actor trembling. Schumacher was rushed the hospital immediately afterward.
