Freak fidget spinner injury forces actress to withdraw from festival

A talented actress has been forced to withdraw from her biggest Irish stage role after suffering a concussion in a freak fidget spinner accident.

Doctors have ordered West Cork-raised, London-based, Ayoola Smart, 22, to rest for up to two weeks after diagnosing the head injury after last week’s incident at the Wilton shopping centre in Cork. She was standing in a shop when a child standing nearby lost control of the gadget and she was struck behind one of her ears.

Ayoola, who has appeared in BBC’s Holby City and ITV’s Vera, as well as on The Globe stage in Taming of the Shrew, had been cast as Serena the Mermaid in Cork-playwright Lynda Radley’s award-winning Futureproof, which was to receive its Irish premiere in the Everyman Theatre as part of the Cork Midsummer Festival from June 16-24.