Larsen Idealog

Actor Playing Brutus Stabs Himself

AP – August 31, 2007

Julius Caesar lay dead and Brutus was talking to his co-conspirators about swords and blood when he paused and excused himself, saying, "I seem to have stabbed myself."

Aspen actor/director Kent Hudson Reed accidentally cut his leg open with the knife he was using in an outdoor performance of "Scenes from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar" on Wednesday.

He tried to carry on, "but my boot was filling up with blood and I was flubbing my lines, wondering if I was going to pass out, wondering if the audience could see the blood."

Portia (Susan Mauntel) took Brutus to a hospital for stitches and play narrator Tyson Young announced the performance was canceled.

"That's what you get for trying to kill Caesar," he said.

Reed said actors normally don't use real knives, but the scene was set up so none of the performers were close enough to hurt each other.

"But I hadn't thought an actor might stab himself," he said.

Reed said the show would go on, although Brutus might be limping for a while.

The next day's review:

"This was the sharpest production of Julius Caesar I’ve ever seen. At one point, you could cut the tension with a knife. There wasn’t a dull spot in the entire production, and for the most part, I was on the edge of my seat. A bloody good show."