Jodie Comer Cuts Broadway Show Short Due to Difficulty Breathing amid Poor Air Quality in N.Y.C.

Jodie Comer abruptly ended her Broadway performance Wednesday because of New York City’s current air quality alert.

Minutes into the matinee performance of Prima Facie at Broadway’s John Golden Theatre, the show’s Tony-nominated star stopped performing, citing difficulty breathing, multiple outlets reported.

Comer, 30, is the only performer in Prima Facie, a one-woman show about a young lawyer enmeshed in the criminal justice system due to a sexual assault.

Variety reported that Comer told the audience she couldn’t breathe before a stage manager ushered her off the stage.

A spokesperson for the show told The Hollywood Reporter that an understudy would take on the performance in the Killing Eve star’s place.

“Today’s matinee of Prima Facie was halted approximately 10 minutes into the performance after Jodie Comer had difficulty breathing due to the poor air quality in New York City because of smoke from the Canadian wildfires,” said the spokesperson. “The performance was set to start again from the top with understudy Dani Arlington going on for Ms. Comer in the role of Tessa.”

New York is experiencing some of the highest pollution levels in the world due to smoke from Eastern Canada’s ongoing wildfires. IQair, an air quality technology company, labeled the metropolis’ air quality “very unhealthy” Tuesday night.

Mayor Eric Adams wrote on Twitter Wednesday afternoon: “We’re in the worst of the conditions, but the Air Quality Health Advisory has been extended until 11:59 pm Thursday — which our teams have been anticipating. Mask up and limit your outdoor activities.”
Prima Facie is written by Australian-British playwright Suzie Miller. Its Justin Martin-directed production launched last year in London’s West End, where Comer won an Olivier Award for her leading role as Tessa.

She is now nominated for leading actress in a play at the 76th Tony Awards, which will be held this Sunday.

Comer told The Hollywood Reporter in May that playing Tessa felt “deeply personal… I feel like a woman. I feel like I’ve stepped into my womanhood. I feel like I have so much more trust within myself and who I am.”

“I realized that I was quite fearful last year of a lot of things, especially in my ability to do this. And I think that actually, through this experience, I’ve been able to transform that into a sense of trust, which is a really nice feeling,” she said. “That’s not to say I don’t have my moments, but I just feel like I have a clearer sense of who I am.”

Of her post-show routine, Comer added that she does “a little cool down on stage afterwards” and stretches. “Sometimes I wake up and I feel like I was kind of hit by a train. It’s generally okay. You just have to make sure that you take care of yourself because I think it’s in those moments when you slip up with those things that you can feel it a little bit more.”