A Dublin actor's condition was described as comfortable Friday after he suffered a shallow chest wound during what was supposed to be a fake stage fight.

Michael McElhatton, injured while performing in the first preview of "Twenty Grand" at the Peacock Theatre on Thursday evening, will be taking a few days off to recuperate, spokeswoman Lucy McKeever said. He was hospitalized overnight."I can't really remember another case like this when we had life imitating art, as it were," McKeever said.

McElhatton was cut with a knife brought on stage to pierce a bag of fake blood - a common prop used to make mock fights more realistic.

The mishap apparently went unnoticed by the theater audience. "He even took his curtain call," said McKeever. "I suppose the show must go on."