Palais Theatre — Attraction in Melbourne

Tonight a man went into cardiac arrest during a Melbourne Comedy Festival show, the management of the situation by staff and production was both disrespectful and undignified for that man. Floor staff in the theatre were alerted of a mans seizure/ collapse on the upper balcony and other audience members aided his medical care- this is when the higher management should have been/ would have been alerted of a medical emergency in the crowd. The show should have been paused now (especially considering there were a number of acts that would have been simple to stop the next performer entering the stage), but the show continued. The paramedics arrived about 5 minutes after the collapse, the man was still in an acute condition lying on the floor in the aisle of his row. Again, the show continued. The man was in cardiac arrest with CPR compressions commenced and the sound of the defibrillator filling the whole upper balcony. My sister and I left at this point, unable to by-stand someone potentially dying in front of us, and horrified that the comedy was un-interrupted. It had been at least 10 minutes into this medical emergency by the time we left, we asked for the closest stair security guard to radio down to stop the show, but for some unsafe and unpractical reason they didnt have one (what would have happened if someone dropped next to this security guard?). We next rushed to the upstairs bar where the manager had to be called from their break out the back (so was obviously not made aware of the situation). It was not until we were out of the theatre, had witnessed multiple cycles of CPR and all the way down the stairs that there was an announcement that the show needed to be stopped.

Firstly, there was a gross lack of respect, dignity and humanity to that man in a medical emergency that you blatantly allowed the show to continue while he was in that state. There is no way that the coordinators of the venue and event didnt know, they would have chosen to continue and to prioritise filming a show over the safety and care of your audience. Pull the cord on the mic. Send someone out on stage half way through the set. Simply, do anything to stop the show when its clearly unethical to continue. His care was also jeopardised by your negligence, you prevented an announcement asking for paramedics or doctors in the venue when he first collapsed, and for the appropriate space and lighting to be given to his care. The time you wasted in waiting for external paramedics to arrive could be detrimental to his outcome.

The whole of the balcony (i would assume around 200 people) was forced to witness this distressing event. No one was really paying attention to the acts since the man went down, and many people left before we did. I'll also add that although I cannot know the cause of this emergency, if it was in fact bought on by the lighting- we had no communication before the event that there would be bright strobe lights in use. I empathise with the female comedian that was performing and unknowingly doing a voice over for this mans cardiac arrest, who unfortunately even made a joke about medical emergencies as he was dying to the sound of her voice. She should not have even been let on stage because the show should have been stopped at the first sign of his crisis.

This man deserved better, the audience should not have been forced to sit there to watch and the management needs to rectify its priorities, because no one gives a shit if you have to re-film someones set if there is someone in cardiac arrest in...

Last night, I visited the iconic Palais Theatre in St Kilda to watch the legendary "Weird Al" Yankovic perform live, and it was a night to remember. The atmosphere of the landmark theatre is truly unique, with a distinct beer smell that gave it a classic, old-school vibe. The sticky floors and cramped rows added to the charm, and I couldn't help but feel like I was part of something special... everytime someone had to leave the row to go to the toilet or to grab another drink, the entire row did that awkward forced Mexican wave as we stood to let them pass.

The show itself was fantastic, with "Weird Al" delivering all the hits that I had grown up not listening to. In fact, I was surprised to learn after the show started that this was a b-side concert. However, the sound crew's volume checks did result in the instruments completely drown out the vocals.. this had some leave the show early due to deafening decibels. But despite this, it was still an incredible night out that I won't forget anytime soon. Al had a double sellout performance as part of his world tour.

The best part of the evening, though, was enjoying it with my daughter. It was a special bonding experience that we'll both cherish forever. The Palais Theatre provided the perfect setting for a night of family fun and entertainment.

Overall, I highly recommend checking out the Palais Theatre for your next night out. While the cramped seating and sticky floors may not be for everyone, it's all part of the charm of this iconic venue. And with great acts like "Weird Al" performing regularly, it's the perfect place to make lasting memories with...

Let's get this out of the way... The Palais is a Very historical and nostalgic venue, hosted great pedigree of performers in the past... the new refurbished palais, looks amazing and the lot, couple of disappointing points from me: Sound, for a theatre of its size and especially since it was recently refurbished, I felt the sound was poor, it could see some improvements, hope they do make changes! I was seated on the first floor in the front row, amazing views of the stage and great seats, however if you planned on dancing during a live performances, then the first 4 rows on level 1 is NOT for you, you are literally nailed to the seats as they won't allow you to even stand up, the security is like as though you are a criminal 😡 if you showed any inclination of wanting to enjoy yourself. Food, for God sake, please make sure you eat something before you get there. There is NO hot food available inside the venue. For main course the only thing you will get to buy is 2 flavours of red rock deli chips and for dessert you can only get a chunky kit kat. The pack of chips hit the famous 80:20 rule, 80% content of the pack is air and 20% content is chips, so make sure you buy a pack of 5. Again you would had to have won the lotto to afford a pack of chips as it costs an arm and a leg! Atleast with the kit kat, what you see is what you...