According to hollywoodreporter.com, a British actor and director, Josephine Melville, collapsed and died backstage after appearing in a production of Nine Night in Nottingham, she was 61 years old. Melville passed away Thursday night at the Nottingham Playhouse after an appearance as Aunt Maggie, the venue stated. She received immediate assistance from first aid staff and a member of the audience prior to paramedics arriving, however, she died at the scene. No cause of death was immediately released.
The play was a co-production between Nottingham Playhouse and Leeds Playhouse. According to the statement made, “The entire company, and staff at both theatres are in a state of shock. Josephine was a truly wonderful and well-loved person, a revered and deeply respected performer, director, producer, archivist and writer, and a tremendous Auntie Maggie in Nine Night.” All performances of the play were cancelled after Melville’s passing. Melville played Tessa Parker on the long running British soap EastEnders, in 1986. She appeared for eight episodes and reappeared in the BBC Soap in 2005 as the character Ellie Wright.
Melville was born in Essex and her other acting credits include roles in The Bill, Prime Suspect and Casualty. Just last year, she was a part of Know Your Roots, a project that had workshops and recorded interviews across Essex in celebration of the history of Black Women’s hair.
Stephanie Sirr, chief executive of Nottingham Playhouse stated, “We send our love and condolences to Jo’s family and friends. On a deeply tragic and extremely difficult evening we want to pay tribute to the company of Nine Night and to the whole Nottingham Playhouse team who managed the situation with empathy and professionalism,”
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