Raphael Schumacher, 27, who was accidentally hanged on stage during a performance in Pisa’s Teatro Lux, has been declared clinically dead.
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The incident occurred during a private performance on January 30, according to the local edition of national newspaper Corriere della Sera.
A member of the audience – believed to be a medical graduate – rushed to his aid after noticing that his body was trembling. She loosened the noose and, with the help of another audience member, lowered him to the ground. Italian news agency ANSA reports four people are now under investigation for manslaughter in connection with the incident.
“The family and the prosecutor’s office have both authorized that his organs be donated, but there removal will be subject to medical assesment to be performed in the course of the night”, the statement, shared with BBC, read.
According to organizers, Schumacher’s scene – a monologue exploring a teenager’s angst ending with a depiction of suicide – had been scripted to conclude with faked gunshots, but the actor allegedly changed the ending to depict hanging without telling others.
‘The noose should have been fake and a harness should have caught him if he fell, ‘ a source said.
It said Schumacher had chosen at the last moment to use a rope for the suicide scene rather than a pistol.
The play took part at different locations in the theater, allowing spectators to walk from scene to scene.
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“We are shocked”, Gabriele De Luca, the theater’s art director, told the Daily Mail. ‘No one, not even us, understands how this happened and it will be up to the police to shed light on it’.
