Police are investigating what caused two 16-year-old boys at Saint Kentigern College to suffer cuts to their necks during the opening night performance of Sweeny Todd last night.
The pair were taken to Auckland City Hospital last night, but have since been discharged and were doing well, head of the college Steve Cole said today.
The musical by Stephen Sondheim re-tells the Victorian melodrama of Sweeney Todd, an English barber and serial killer who kills his customers with a razor and, with the help of Mrs Lovett, a struggling pie shop owner, turns their corpses into meat pies. It was also made into a hit film starring Johnny Depp and Helena Bonham Carter.
In an interview with Newstalk ZB, Mr Cole explained the "unfortunate" incident happened halfway through the performance's second act.
The prop was a razor which had been blunted and wrapped in several protective layers, Mr Cole said.
"It's normal for Sweeney Todd to have such an instrument [and it] clearly had been checked many, many times.
"It has been bound and cellophaned and all sorts of things. It had been blunted and had been through all sorts of health and safety checks. It was a very unfortunate mistake."
The scene had been performed "many times" since January, including eight dress rehearsals where the prop was used.
When asked how two boys ended up with the sides of their necks cut last night, Mr Cole said he didn't know.
He was not concerned about possible consequences for the school under new health and safety laws which came into force on Monday.
"I've given that no thought at all. We're very confident in our health and safety procedures. My concern is for the two boys and their families."
There would be no performance tonight, but Mr Cole said he hoped the rest of the show's run would still go ahead - "without those particular props".
The Ministry of Education has offered its support to those at the college. Head of Sector Enablement and Support Katrina Casey said they had contacted the school to offer any support its members required during "this clearly difficult time".
"We are sorry to hear about the incident that took place there last night."
During the show, Sweeney Todd's victims are cleanly dispatched from the barber chair. The school website says the set design was in keeping with the Broadway version, which included a revolving stage.
It also faced the challenge of creating a mechanical chair to dispose of Todd's victims directly down a chute into the bakehouse.
The school's head of music, Ross Gerritson, wouldn't comment. WorkSafe New Zealand is also looking into the incident.
Meanwhile, the owner of an antique shop where the school got two razors said the person who bought them had talked to one of his staff members about the need to cover up the sharp edge.
The man, who asked the New Zealand Herald not to be named, said he believed the person was a teacher at the school and the blades, which retail for about $40, were bought a couple of months ago.
When the staff member who sold the razors heard what had happened this morning she was quite upset, but the sale of cut-throat razors was not unusual and they had been sold to an adult, the man said.
He said he sold a lot of them, especially with the popularity of single blade shaving increasing recently.
St Kentigern College is a private independent Presbyterian day and boarding school offering education for girls and boys aged 11 to 18 years. The large secondary school is set on the banks of the Tamaki Estuary in Pakuranga.
