The theater community is mourning a tragic loss.
Julien Arnold—a Canadian stage actor who founded the Shakespeare theater company Free Will Players—died on Nov. 24 after having a medical emergency during a performance of A Christmas Carol at Edmonton’s Citadel Theatre. He was 60.
While the specifics of his medical issue have not been disclosed, paramedics arrived at the theater around 8:28 p.m. and performed multiple resuscitation attempts on Arnold—who was playing the roles of Marley, Mr. Fezziwig, Banjo and a part of the ensemble in the production—before he was pronounced dead at the location, Alberta Health Services spokesperson Kerry Williamson told CBC News Nov. 26.
In light of his passing, the theater announced that it would be modifying the remaining dates of its A Christmas Carol play, which is scheduled to run until Dec. 24, to allow the cast and crew time to grieve Arnold’s death.
