I have a full review on my Instagram for this book. I can’t say enough good things about this book and the author. The stories are unique as he doesn’t just cover the big headliners. Chris is so wonderful when it comes to research and telling the stories that have been forgotten. He gives the working and lower classes in British history their voice in both this book and his first one, which I also highly recommend reading.

Death in the Theatre by Chris Woods is a very interesting although macabre book about the history of deaths so often tragic in the theatres of the country.

The book has been well researched and written. I did find the chapters about children very difficult to read. It was an interesting book. I am quite glad we now have more health and safety in place as a lot of these issues would not have happened if there was more safety in those days.

Pen and Sword always release very interesting historical books so you know that when you get a book from them it will be worth reading.

Thanks to Netgalley and Pen and Sword for the ARC Copy of the book. This review is my own opinion.

If like me you had parents from the Carry On years I regularly heard 'Sid James died on stage' so I knew these things happened, but the extent, I had no idea.

Over the course of 34 chapters we see the untimely passing of people ranging from actors, audience members to those working tirelessly behind the curtains. An aspect I found particularly interesting was seeing the necessary improvements and advances in safety that some of these disasters inspired. Things such as the legal requirement of the safety curtain after the events at the Exeter Theatre Royal. Or there's the panic bolt doors installed and legislation to ensure exit doors would open outwards in public buildings.


I will just briefly mention there is several chapters detailing the deaths of children (and very young babies), I have extreme anxiety about this topic and it is handled (as everyone elses are) carefully and with respect. I found them extremely difficult to read, which is no fault of the books, I just wanted to add that as a trigger warning.


I shall leave you with the last words of Grace Anne Housley, one of the chapters I found the saddest. Working with her partner Sydney Grant, Grace had recently been to the doctors after regularly feeling unwell. The doctors revealed to Sydney she had a heart condition and excitement could prove fatal. Sydney decided not to tell her as they had a successful career together. So in the Lyceum Theatre in Birmingham in 1902, Grace sang the following words, bowed to the audience and then her heart gave out. Whilst her condition is more than likely to have caused death sooner rather than later, she deserved to know and decide herself.

'Goodbye dolly, I must leave you, though it breaks my heart to go'

Princess Fuzzypants here: The history of the theatre is fascinating. So much passion. So much drama. So much excitement and that isn’t even on stage. In fact, the history of theatre is rich in final curtains for many both in front of and behind the scenes as well as in the audience. Whilst not complete by any means, as I can think of a few that were not mentioned, it is still a full and interesting review of the British events.

There are several that involve falls from great heights, many of panic from fire, some from malice and a couple of rather quirky and oddball events. Each tells the background of the story and then the actual event. It also covers the inquests after the event. Some were pure accidents. Some were caused by neglect or indifference. The theatre is a cruel master for those who ply their trade. It seems it has been a dangerous workplace as well.

Four purrs and two paws up.

A very interesting, if macabre, addendum to a theatre history shelf – this does what it says on the tin, reporting fatalities on the stage and on the way to it in Britain's performing houses. But boy, it could have been written in a more amenable way. Just take the first chapter, regarding a stampede in the corridor for people wanting to see something from the pits, just because George III was in attendance. I could quote this line as being plummy, that line as needing a green or red editorial pen, but I think the way some children were "hurried into eternity" is enough. Yes, you're writing about historical events, but even when you quote the contemporary news, it's not like it's Middle English. It doesn't feel out of place, so why try and emulate the same style?

People go to police stations with "asseverations of innocence." When we first leave London it is to a place "slightly sleepy and slumberous", despite "a hall for giving cinematograph exhibitions" – or cinema to you and me. It's talks of "doleful lamentation" that make you think the author wants to write a Victorian melodrama, not report what happened in the audiences of them. All of this is a shame – if not really awkward and disrespectful when dealing with a crush of 180+ children. The chapters involving the engaging inquests come on like easy, vintage true crime, and the history of theatre can really come across in incidents such as a Scottish man killed by an exploding limelight apparatus. The novelty of that to the locals was not so much the rarity of his death, but that he was shockingly working on a 'get in' on a Sunday.

Still, for want of similar books, this is going to have to do. And it does very well if you win the struggle with the style and accept the narratives themselves. The highlight surely has to be a Liverpool Aladdin, where a chap taking his three kids by his first wife, and her mother, burst out into lethal shock at seeing his estranged young second wife in the chorus – except it wasn't her. That said, a real life horse 'race' on the country's first ever revolving stage runs that a close second. Nobody here is exceptionally famous, except perhaps Harry Lauder's best friend, go-to guy and brother-in-law, who passed in the wings while his best friend was on stage, but that doesn't matter – the countless turns who joined in funding benevolence and attending funerals of their rivals shows the family that is the theatre, even if when someone in the audience shoots himself it's to not much attention. There is enough of the bizarre here that made me grateful of the chance to read it, but give me a coloured pen and things would have been different.

I always enjoy books on the history of theatre and this book was no exception. I find Pen and Sword to be good publishers for non-fiction that is highly accessible. and i felt like this was proven again by this book. The tone was good and it kept me hooked and entertained all the way through. I like how it didn't just focus just on London and had plenty of examples outside of London.

With massive crowds open flames real cannons and minimal safety effort it’s no surprise to hear there is a whole book written about ”Death In The Theatre.” From a single death due to stupidity to massive carnage of children the casualties do not stop coming and I don’t know if this is something negative about me I just thought the book was absolutely entertaining but I inhaled the whole thing like a woman grasping for oxygen I love books about history to begin with I’m obsessed with England as a country love True Crime it’s so to mix these three favorites into one book about death in the theater it’s like cat nip Tuck person like me and OMG if it wasn’t just the greatest book I’ve read this year. When I am excited about the book I get nervous thinking maybe the author didn’t do their due diligence and I’m going to be disappointed but not the case with author Chris wood in his book death in the theater I think the author did a fabulous job on a grim subject and put in all the details a reader like me wants to read I absolutely loved it and highly recommend it anyone who loves to take a glance yesterday year and the things they went through shouldn’t scam on this book because it is so worth reading. It is a book I will definitely be reading again in the future. I received this book from NetGalley and Pen/Sword History but I am leaving this review voluntarily please forgive any mistakes as I am blind and dictate my review.

A collection of intesting and tragic stories happened in theatres. It was entertaining and informative.
Recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher for this arc, all opinions are mine

Sadly this book was full of frippery and unnecessary wordsmith skills that I got bored quickly reading it. It reminded me of a Charles Dickens novel. It's sad because the author may have found some interesting gems about deaths in the theatre but the writing style is so off putting I'll never know.

After reading the enthralling Death in the Theatre it will be impossible to view theatre in the same way again! Author Chris Wood has meticulously researched and crafted one of the most fascinating and riveting books I have read this year...I absorbed it like a sponge. The book is about unimaginable tragedies (accidents, murder, natural death) which have taken place in British theatres over the years, both on the stage and off. The true stories are vivid and dramatic and left me curious to learn more.

The lower class patrons were seated in the main auditorium and therefore more likely to be injured or worse. Whether crowds were crushed (devastatingly, more often rushes of children, once to receive treats), spread fires from person to person in panic, pierced through the eye with a cane, shot, badly burned from boilers, mauled by performing lions, it's all here in black and white, yet colourful. Photographs and illustrations depict horrors which befell families. Thankfully, construction and health and safety have improved.

Intrigued by real-life (er...death) macabre, most of which will be new to you? Don't let this book slip through your fingers.

My sincere thank you to Pen & Sword and NetGalley for providing me with an early digital copy of this engrossing book, one to always remember.

My thanks to Pen & Sword for a review copy of this book via NetGalley.

Theatres are spaces of glamour, of entertainment and fun, but they are equally spaces which see (and have seen) their fair share of tragedy unfold, particularly since they are relatively confined places where large numbers of people gather. In Death in the Theatre (2023), author Chris Wood combines two of his interests, the fascinating world of the theatre and the darker, and macabre topic of deaths therein to trace the stories of some of the lesser known but gruesome and tragic deaths that have taken place in the UK’s theatres over the course of time. In tracing these stories, Wood seeks to

resuscitate the departed in some way and impar[t] insight and feeling into their plights …

In 34 short chapters, chronologically arranged (between 1794 and 1939), with illustrations and photographs, Wood takes us to various known and smaller theatres across the country, from Haymarket and Drury Lane theatres in London to the Grand Theatre in Blackpool to Dumfries Royal Theatre and the Garrick Theatre in Hertford among others exploring stories of tragic accidents and deaths at different times in each place (most chapters concentrating on a single incident or story).

Most of these were accidental deaths, with unsurprisingly stampedes and fires (and on some occasions, a combination of the two) being the biggest offenders. Disastrous falls experienced mostly by staff though also by a young actor and a member of the audience, heart failure, and suicides were other contributors (also a lion on one occasion, yes, you read that right!) with actual murder being the exception (in fact, among the stories explored, the murders both involved members of the staff and were very much off stage; so for readers of murder mysteries like me, if expecting onstage murders with prop weapons sinisterly substituted by the real thing, one might be, well almost disappointed … we do get one such onstage death of this variety, but I won’t say any more). Through telling us these stories, the author also highlights connected issues of theatre safety and security, standards regarding which were far laxer in the past, and to which these accidents didn’t necessarily bring about improvement. We get a look into the inquests that followed each death, as also the human impact—on families, fellow actors, the audience, the town, and of course, the theatre concerned.

Perhaps shockingly, most times, the theatre and performers seem to embrace their famous motto, ‘the show must go on’ with stampedes and even on-stage deaths (of staff rather than the performers themselves, in a sad reflection of the value given, or rather, not given to those not in glamourous or important roles) quickly cleaned away or hidden and performances going on as usual. Of course, it wasn’t always performers or theatre employees involved in these incidents, members of the audience were as much so.

The stories explored include the horrific, and heart-breaking ones, especially the incidents involving children. I appreciated that the author managed to put across the severity and distressing nature of these but at the same time, they never get too heavy to bear (if that makes sense).

Of course, the book is not only about death, but also the theatre, so we explore that too. As the narratives are arranged chronologically, we see how theatre evolved from the days when patents were required for speaking (as opposed to just musical) performances to the coming in of burlesque, variety shows and even all-round entertainment like the Rotunda Theatre in Liverpool. Alongside we see the theatre buildings themselves (and their architecture too)—from Haymarket and Drury Lane to the opulent Coliseum in London which had a revolving stage constructed for a whopping £70,000 pounds.

And with time technologies and mechanisms used evolved too, and perhaps reduced dangers to an extent. Lighting was one aspect which presented the greatest threat—candlelight and gaslight could equally pose dangers of fire, but limelight (and that was my favourite fact I learned in the book—brilliant white spotlights made from heating actual blocks of lime) proved worst of all since the high temperatures also meant possible explosions, which did in fact take place and claim lives. Likewise, at times, mechanisms devised to save lives like fire-proof curtains would ironically take lives in their own macabre way.

In his introduction to the book, the author mentions the ‘inevitable ghostly apparition’ often associated with the theatre. And while we mayn’t have got any ‘ghost’ stories amongst the ones we are told, we aren’t disappointed either for there is one uncanny story at least involving a death of course but for an incident preceding which there never was any explanation. On the other extreme is a story which also involves a tragic death, but for a rather ridiculous reason (a ‘misrecognition’).

Death in the Theatre gives us a fascinating look into the darker and tragic side of those glamorous places of entertainment that people have flocked to for centuries and continue to do so. While the focus of these is indeed on the loss of life, the stories are told in an interesting and very readable manner, and at the same time also give us a look into the world of theatre itself, and how it (and the buildings which have housed it in different places across the UK) evolved and changed over the ages. An engrossing, entertaining (even with its subject matter) and informative read.

'The Death in the Theatre' is a collection of 34 stories of tragic events that happened in British theatres between 1794 and 1939. A very interesting read for true crime readers.

Death in the Theatre by Chris Wood is about the various calamities that have taken place in theatres from the very end of the 18th century stretching into the 20th.

Let me just say that this book didn't call to me: it SCREAMED at me. I enjoy reading things about the macabre, and I am fascinated with 19th century theatre, so to have an overlap between the two was quite nice. The author covers all sorts of mishaps and tragedies, ranging from audience members dying of heart attacks or accidental smothering, to managers and actors killing themselves when they feel they have no alternative, to children burning alive or a staff member murdering another because of a grudge. There's even a lion attack!

Truly an interesting book that brings to light incidents that have now faded from public memory. If I have one quibble, it's that I think it could do with another go-through to catch punctuation errors, but it's still an engrossing read regardless.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Death in the Theatre was a fun read highlighting some of the extreme and bizarre deaths that have taken place in the theatre over the last three hundred years or so. I liked the way the collection of tales was structured and the book was just the right length to hold my interest throughout. This is a history book that will appeal to theatergoers or those interested in the history of theatre. It gets 4 stars from me.

A quick read and nothing groundbreaking, that's focused on separate murders or crimes that occurred in theaters. Scattered over the years, and in no particular order, the book is interesting and while having a narrow focus, it's a book for a very specific audience. If you're looking for true crime meets the theater, then this book is for you.

This was a interesting concept for a nonfiction book, I never really thought of how many deaths could happen in the theatre. This was written well and I enjoyed the way Chris Wood wrote this.