Suranne Jones has candidly spoken about the moment she dramatically collapsed in front of 1,000 people while doing a West End play.
The actress, 41, had to withdraw from Frozen, a harrowing story in which she played the mother of a murdered girl, after the incident in 2018.
Suranne starred as a guest on Alice Liveing’s Give Me Strength podcast, which broadcast earlier this week, and spoke about how her mother’s death after suffering dementia, the pressures of bringing up a young son and a punishing work schedule all took their toll.
Brave: Suranne Jones has candidly spoken about the moment she dramatically collapsed in front of 1,000 people while doing a West End play
Suranne’s withdrawal from Frozen was initially attributed to illness and the ‘deeply affecting’ subject matter of the play, which explores child abuse.
The former Coronation Street star said: ‘It was a very lonely play. I was doing that and prepping for Gentleman Jack and I didn’t know how strong I had to be.
‘I wanted to change my body to be slightly more masculine around the shoulders.’
Traumatised: The actress, 41, had to withdraw from Frozen (pictured), a harrowing story in which she played the mother of a murdered girl, after the backstage incident in 2018
Explaining her relentless daily routine, Suranne went on: ‘I was getting up in the morning to play with my son really early and then I’d go to rehearsals the other side of town.
‘Then do a full day of rehearsals- my character cried a lot and was in trauma throughout the whole piece.
‘Then I would get home and do a couple of French lessons and come and see you at the gym [Alice] three times a week and I was just over-stretching myself.’
Hectic schedule: While all this was going on, Suranne was reading Anne Lister’s diaries and going to meet director Sally Wainwright for Gentleman Jack (pictured)
While all this was going on, Suranne was reading Anne Lister’s diaries and going to meet director Sally Wainwright for Gentleman Jack.
The star admitted: ‘I cried on the rowing machine once because I was so tired. I was doing too much.
‘It was not being able to let go of anything. People didn’t understand what I’m going through.
‘What I wasn’t saying is “I don’t think I’m being the best mother, I’m really sad that my mum died and I’m living this f***ing trauma every night on stage that’s really messing me up” and I was just knackered.’
Suranne, whose real name is Sarah, lost her mum to vascular dementia just months after giving birth to her first child in 2016.
She previously told the The Guardian’s Weekend magazine she ignored doctor’s advice to stop working because she ‘didn’t want to be a headline’.
The actress told Alice: ‘I had a collapse because I wasn’t listening to my body.
‘I had hallucinations, episodes, where I started to see things, because my body was shutting down.
Over-stretched: Suranne said she jumped from job to job at 100 miles an hour and never stopped to focus on her mental health (pictured in Doctor Foster)
‘I’d done 90 shows. The pressure got to me until I collapsed in front of an audience I think it holds 1,500 to 2,000 people. I couldn’t see, my vision had gone. It was really scary.’
Speaking about her crippling anxiety, Suranne said: ‘The anxiety comes out in this mania because I have to do lots of stuff to make it all go away so I don’t have to think about it.
‘I did that on this enormous scale and I was offered medication. At the time I was like “no I don’t want to do that, I want to go to therapy”.’
Suranne took a year off work during which she took up yoga, had therapy, took medication and quit Instagram.
Supportive: Suranne said she broke down to her PT Alice (pictured) during a training session after ‘completely exhausting herself’
The star concluded: ‘I want to say to anyone in this position, to think I thought “oh I don’t want to be another person who has got this”, it’s just crazy.
‘You have to listen to yourself and body and mind and take care of yourself.’
Alice Liveing’s Give Me Strength podcast broadcasts weekly.
For confidential support call the Samaritans on 116123, visit a local branch or go to www.samaritans.org.
Health: Suranne took a year off work during which she took up yoga, had therapy took medication and quit Instagram (pictured in 2020)