London theatre worker paralysed after falling through unmarked, unlocked trapdoor

 
Stage fall: The Soho Theatre
Anna Dubuis9 October 2014

A stage hand for an award-winning London theatre company was left paralysed after walking through an unmarked “Juliet” door and tumbling 10ft onto the stage below.

Rachael Presdee, 38, spent six months in hospital and was left paraplegic following the accident at Soho Theatre in central London, Westminster Magistrates’ Court heard.

She is now wheelchair-bound and, unable to continue her career in theatre, has returned to her native Australia.

Theatre bosses today faced a “substantial” fine after pleading guilty to health and safety breaches in a prosecution brought by Westminster City Council.

Miss Presdee was working backstage on a 2012 production of Boys, for the Headlong theatre company, which launched the careers of Enron writer Lucy Prebble, and Chimerica author Lucy Kirkwood.

The court heard Miss Presdee was adjusting the stage lights for an evening performance when she walked through the unlocked door - traditionally used for the balcony scene in Romeo and Juliet - into “thin air”.

The door had been identified as a potential safety risk a month earlier but had not been marked or secured.

Alistair Smith, representing the council, told the court: “She walked into a theatre not expecting to find a blank empty space behind a door she walked through.

“There should have been systems in place to assess the risk of walking out from a door into thin air.

“At the most basic level, the placing of signage and or securing of the door.”

District Judge John Zani said it was left unsecured for “not an inconsiderable period of time”, ading: “Anybody could have accessed that door and fallen through and have been injured either to a lesser or a greater degree.”

Miss Presdee, who is said by friends to be studying law in order to launch a civil claim against the theatre, was not present for the hearing but sent a four-page statement outlining the “devastating” effect the accident has had on her life.

She had moved to London in 2006 and worked on a series of hit shows, including The History Boys’ first run at the National Theatre in 2006 and Jerusalem at the Royal Court.

Eleanor Sanderson, representing Soho Theatre Company Ltd which has operated as a charity for the last 14 years, made an annual profit of £63,000 last year.

Referring to the theatre’s bosses, who attended court, she said: “They wish me to express how sincerely and deeply they regret what occurred.

“All at the Soho Theatre Company were shocked and are devastated by what happened on that day.”

A Soho Theatre spokeswoman said: “The Board, company and staff of Soho Theatre deeply regret the accident in June 2012 when a member of a visiting production company suffered a serious injury backstage at the theatre. Our first concerns have been for her and her well-being.

We are committed to ensuring the safety of all those working at and visiting the theatre, and undertook our own investigation as well as co-operating fully with the Council’s investigation. As there are ongoing legal proceedings it is inappropriate for us to make any further comment at this stage.”

The theatre pleaded guilty to Section 3 of the Health and Safety at Work Act for failing to protect the safety of visiting production staff, and to Regulation 3 of the Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations for failing to identify and manage the risk to which such persons were exposed.

Councillor Nickie Aiken, Westminster City Council cabinet member for public protection, said: “This young woman, with so much to look forward to, suffered life-changing injuries as a result of someone else’s negligence. “What’s more, it could have so easily have been avoided with a simple warning sign and decent door lock.”

The case was referred to Southwark Crown Court for sentencing at a later date. A civil case is due to be heard later this year.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in