Edmonton actor Julien Arnold died on Sunday night after a medical emergency during a performance of A Christmas Carol at the Citadel Theatre.
The Citadel’s executive director, Jessie van Rijn, and artistic director, Daryl Cloran, said in a statement on Monday that Arnold was a beloved cast member and cherished member of the Edmonton theatre community.
“His presence brought joy, heart and depth to every role, and his artistic contributions — and big hugs — will be deeply missed,” they said.
They thanked the theatre’s front-of-house team, medical professionals from the audience and paramedics “for their swift actions” on Sunday. The statement did not specify the cause of Arnold’s death.
Kerry Williamson, a spokesperson for Alberta Health Services, said paramedics visited the theatre at approximately 8:28 p.m. on Sunday.
Despite resuscitation attempts, Arnold died in the theatre.
He was playing the roles of Marley and Mr. Fezziwig in the play, according to the Citadel’s playbill.
Cloran and van Rijn said there will be slight scheduling changes for future performances and the box office will contact affected ticket holders.
“We are asking for some privacy and patience as we turn our attention to supporting family members, the Christmas Carol company, staff and patrons at this time,” they said.
According to a profile of Arnold in the Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia, he grew up in Edmonton and graduated from the University of Alberta with a bachelor of fine arts in 1989. He earned a master of fine arts from the school in directing in 2006.
Arnold was founding member of Free Will Players, the theatre company that produces the Freewill Shakespeare Festival.
David Horak, the festival’s artistic director, said Arnold has been a fixture in Edmonton’s theatre community for many years.
“He just had the ability to create characters that had the biggest hearts in the world, and he was like that as well, as a person,” he said.
Horak also said Arnold had a gift for making complex and difficult texts conversational.
“There’s nobody, nobody quite like him,” he said.
