Taron Egerton has tested positive for COVID-19 two weeks after unexpectedly fainting during the first preview performance of the new West End production of “Cock.”
On social media accounts for the play, the producers released a statement announcing the positive test and that the 32-year-old actor is expected to return to the play after isolating for a week.
Premiering in 2009, “Cock” follows a gay man named Josh who finds himself questioning his sexuality after falling in love with a woman simply known as “W,” and finding himself torn between her and his longtime boyfriend known as “M.” Egerton plays M in the play opposite Jonathan Bailey, who plays Josh.
During the production’s first performance on March 5, Egerton suddenly collapsed during the final portion of the play. After the curtain was brought down and he was attended to by a doctor in the audience, director Marianne Jackson informed the audience that Egerton was doing “absolutely fine,” and the play was completed with understudy Joel Harper-Jackson.
“As some of you may have heard, I passed out during the first performance of COCK last night,” Egerton wrote on social media the day after. “I am completely fine. Slightly sore neck and a bruised ego but I’m fine.”
Harper-Jackson will play M during Egerton’s COVID isolation. Egerton, who is known for his performance as Elton John in the musical biopic “Rocketman” and as the secret agent Eggsy in the “Kingsmen” films, most recently starred in the Illumination animated film “Sing 2.” He is set to appear in the Apple TV+ film “Tetris,” which will tell the story of how the iconic video game developed by Soviet computer engineer Alexey Pajitnov became a global success.