Since yesterday,
I have been suffering from vertigo.
It’s not actually vertigo; it’s labyrinthitis. I decided against using its proper name initially, for fear of the David Bowie connotations it provokes.
Labyrinthitis is an infection of the inner ear, which causes incorrect information to be sent to your brain regarding balance. This makes you think you’re spinning around when you’re not. When it strikes it can be very debilitating, making it hard for you to even walk down the street.
I first caught labyrinthitis in 2010, when I was in the midst of a West End run of the musical Dreamboats & Petticoats. Whilst I was standing on the stage one night, moments before curtain up, I suddenly felt like I was going to faint. The floor beneath me became blurry and indistinct; I thought it might open and swallow me up.
I went to see the doctor the following day, who explained the problem (this being his job). He told me that there was no cure for labyrinthitis or definite timeframe for it to be out of my system; I would just have to be patient and sit it out. He said it was often brought on by tiredness and stress, and exacerbated by bright lights and loud music - all of which played a big part in my job. He may as well have told me I was allergic to theatre.
I took a few months for that first bout to pass. Unfortunately, I had to leave the show to concentrate on recovery. Thankfully, any instances since have been brief and less severe.
I hope this will also be the case today. The timing is awful, as I open in a play on Friday that involves a lot of throwing myself about. I’m doing my best not to panic.
Trust me to suffer from a ridiculously-named illness. Why can’t it be called The Goonies?
It’s not actually vertigo; it’s labyrinthitis. I decided against using its proper name initially, for fear of the David Bowie connotations it provokes.
Labyrinthitis is an infection of the inner ear, which causes incorrect information to be sent to your brain regarding balance. This makes you think you’re spinning around when you’re not. When it strikes it can be very debilitating, making it hard for you to even walk down the street.
I first caught labyrinthitis in 2010, when I was in the midst of a West End run of the musical Dreamboats & Petticoats. Whilst I was standing on the stage one night, moments before curtain up, I suddenly felt like I was going to faint. The floor beneath me became blurry and indistinct; I thought it might open and swallow me up.
I went to see the doctor the following day, who explained the problem (this being his job). He told me that there was no cure for labyrinthitis or definite timeframe for it to be out of my system; I would just have to be patient and sit it out. He said it was often brought on by tiredness and stress, and exacerbated by bright lights and loud music - all of which played a big part in my job. He may as well have told me I was allergic to theatre.
I took a few months for that first bout to pass. Unfortunately, I had to leave the show to concentrate on recovery. Thankfully, any instances since have been brief and less severe.
I hope this will also be the case today. The timing is awful, as I open in a play on Friday that involves a lot of throwing myself about. I’m doing my best not to panic.
Trust me to suffer from a ridiculously-named illness. Why can’t it be called The Goonies?