Friday 10 June 2022 08:22 PM Grieving Sir Mark Rylance given rousing applause as he appears on stage after ... trends now
Sir Mark Rylance drew a rousing applause tonight as he took to a London West End stage tonight despite the tragic death of his brother.
The Oscar-winning actor, 62, was word-perfect in the lead role in the hit show Jerusalem at the Apollo Theatre.
Sir Mark has been widely praised for his performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron in the production of Jez Butterworth's play 'Jerusalem'.
His performance this evening comes despite the death in a horror cycling crash of younger brother Jonathan, 60.
Sir Mark had been starring in the West End revival of Jerusalem, in what one critic has called an 'almost superhuman' performance.
He had announced in a statement that he would miss performances this weekend, on Saturday and Sunday, in order to attend the funeral.
But it was unclear whether Sir Mark would feel emotionally able to go ahead with tonight's performance.
A family friend told MailOnline: 'Mark is at the theatre tonight. He will go on stage despite his obvious heartache. Mark will then travel to America for the memorial service.'
A spokesman for the Apollo theatre where Jerusalem is being shown confirmed that Sir Mark would appear in stage tonight.
He said: 'Mark will be on stage tonight. He has just arrived at the theatre. The show must go on.'
Sir Mark has been widely praised for his performance as Johnny 'Rooster' Byron in the production of Jez Butterworth's play 'Jerusalem'.
Sir Mark Rylance (pictured) has bravely insisted on going back on stage tonight - despite the tragic death of his beloved brother in a cycling accident in California
His performance this evening comes despite the death in a horror cycling crash of younger brother Jonathan (above), 60
Theatre-goers offered their thanks to the veteran star for allowing the show to go on.
John and Hilary Norman from Hertfordshire said: 'It's very good of him to carry on. We've been looking forward to this play for months. It would have been a real shame if Mark wasn't here. He is the reason we booked the tickets.'
It was previously reported that Sir Mark will fly to the US to 'grieve' his younger brother as friends and family raised $130,000 (£110,000) for the actor's bereft niece to go to college this Autumn.
Wine expert Jonathan was cycling in the city of Oakland late one evening a fortnight ago when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle, suffering fatal head injuries.
The local fire department, who were first on the scene, gave immediate treatment but, despite being rushed to hospital, the 60-year-old affectionately called 'Jonno' by friends and family, died the following morning.
He had one daughter, Hazel, with her mother, Kate Razo. Their child is due to go to arts college, and a charity page to 'support her' financially following her father's death has already raised $130,000, MailOnline can reveal.
It is another terrible loss for Sir Mark after one of his two step-daughters died from a fatal brain haemorrhage in 2012.
Nataasha van Kampen, a gifted filmmaker, was just 28 when she unexpectedly died on a flight from New York to London.
Sir Mark Rylance is mourning his brother today. Sommelier Jonathan Waters was cycling in the city of Oakland late one evening last week when he was hit by an oncoming vehicle, suffering severe head injuries
'Jonno' had one daughter, Hazel, with her mother, Kate Razo. Their child is due to go to arts college, and a charity page to 'support her' has already raised $130,000
