Theatre ceiling falls on audience in West End
Death of a Salesman literally brings the house down as a chunk of plaster falls from roof
A West End theatre was evacuated mid-performance last night after the ceiling partially caved in. Several theatre-goers at the Piccadilly Theatre suffered minor injuries as they watched Death of a Salesman. Wendell Pierce, the show’s star, apologised to audience members outside. It led to fears of a repeat of the 2013 collapse of part of the ceiling in the Apollo Theatre when 80 people were injured, and raises questions over the safety of London’s older theatres.
BRINGING down the house is usually a metaphor in the theatre, but at one highly acclaimed show last night, it became a reality as part of the ceiling collapsed on audience members. The
Piccadilly Theatre in the West End was evacuated mid-performance after several theatregoers suffered minor injuries during Death of a Salesman, starring Wendell Pierce.
Witnesses described hearing screams as the ceiling collapsed. Police said a few people had suffered minor injuries. London Fire Brigade said about 1,100 people left the theatre during the evacuation. Three ambulances attended and five people received treatment. Four were taken to hospital and one was later discharged.
The incident sparked fears of a repeat of the collapse of part of the ceiling in London’s Apollo theatre in 2013, when 80 people were injured during a performance of The Curious Incident Of The Dog in the Night-time.
In January 2015, the Queen’s Theatre in Shaftesbury Avenue was evacuated after failing power cable caused a small fire during Les Miserables, which was being watched by 1,200 people. No one was hurt on that occasion. However, last night’s incident will raise questions over the safety of many of the
West End’s older theatres. On Twitter, audience members said they were “gutted” to have to leave. One theatregoer wrote: “Incredibly efficient evacuation by the staff.”
Another said: “This was the scariest moment of my life.”
Ambassador Theatre Group (ATG), said: “ATG take the safety and security of our audiences extremely seriously and we are doing everything possible to ascertain the cause of the incident.”
Outside, Pierce, the American actor, addressed theatregoers. “I would like to thank you all for safely evacuating. We apologise and we are glad no one was hurt,” he said. “And I ask you all to come back and see our production. We’re so honoured that you came tonight and so sorry that this happened.”
Martin George, a journalist who was in the grand circle, said: “This huge chunk of ceiling, about three to four metres across, crashed down. There were people screaming and everyone got up and streamed down the stairs.”