A Dunfermline mum lived up to two well-known theatrical proverbs when she injured her leg during a performance in front of 1,600 people.
Lynne Anderson was taking part in a show in Lancashire when she took the expression ‘break a leg’ literally and ruptured a tendon.
After a visit to accident and emergency, however, she was determined that ‘the show must go on’ and was back on stage the next night.
Lynne, husband Gary and seven-year-old son Charlie were part of a 200-strong cast in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints’ British Pageant.
Disaster struck on only the second of the four-night run when a dance move left Lynne in agony.
Gary said: “The pageant was a fantastic experience for us.
“The saddest part was when Lynne hurt herself on stage, but her determination won in the end as she was able to get on stage the following two nights with a pair of homemade 1840s style crutches that someone made for her.”
When Lynne’s injury occurred during a dance scene, Gary was at first unaware of what had happened.
He said: “Initially, when I saw something not quite right with Lynne, I just thought ‘come on, Lynne, there are 1,600 people here, don’t embarrass me.
“However, after a twirl I saw that she was in some distress and at that point I completely forgot about the 1,600 audience and 120 folk on stage and just had to get Lynne off and get her seen to.”
Despite her painful ordeal, Lynne brought back only happy memories of the event and the impact it had had on its audience.
She said: “There was an opportunity for us to meet the audience before and after the show, with lots of family activities that were in keeping with the era.
“One of my favourite comments after the show was ‘it felt very British’.”
She added: “The church can sometimes be mistakenly seen as an American church, however, the early British members who emigrated to America effectively saved the budding church.”
The pageant at the Preston England Temple, near Chorley, was the first of the church outside North America.