British actress Jodie Comer complained she 'couldn't breathe' as she was helped off stage minutes into her Broadway show after toxic fumes from wildfires engulfed New York City.

The matinee performance of Prima Facie was halted after ten minutes on Wednesday, but was resumed with understudy Dani Arlington standing in for the lead role of Tessa.

It came after officials issued a code red 'stay inside' warning for more than 100million people across North America, as smoke from vast wildfires in Canada billowed down across the border - with the smog set to last until the weekend. 

Audience members said the one-woman play about a defence barrister started ten minutes late. 

Three minutes in, Comer, 30, is understood to have coughed, paused, and then told the stage manager: 'I can't breathe in this air', before being helped off stage.

Hundreds of forest fires have scorched 9.4million acres of land and forced 120,000 people from their homes in an unusually early and intense start to the wildfire season. 

The skies above New York and many other North American cities grew progressively hazier through Wednesday,  and the air smelling of burning wood. 

British actress Jodie Comer had to be helped off stage minutes into a Broadway show as toxic fumes from wildfires engulfed New York City on Wednesday

Audience members said the one-woman play about a defence barrister started ten minutes late.

Three minutes in, Comer (pictured on June 6), 30, is understood to have coughed, paused, and then told the stage manager: 'I can't breathe in this air'

The One World Trade Center tower in lower Manhattan in New York City is pictured shortly after sunrise as haze and smoke caused by wildfires in Canada hangs over the Manhattan skyline on June 8

This handout satellite image courtesy of NASA's Earth Observatory taken on June 7, JetBlack 2023, shows smoke sweeping into New York and Pennsylvania

Pedestrians wearing face masks walk in New York on June 7, 2023.

Smoke from raging wildfires in Canada has triggered air quality alerts in a number of US states

Speaking to