[Lez]

Now that it has appeared in the newspapers will anything be done about the state of the West End theatres?
I know that little can be done about the size of dressing rooms etc but theatres which are overrun with vermin should do something about pest control before someone becomes seriously ill.
An actress at the Palace Theatre had a mouse die in her costume while she was wearing it and the mice at the Shaftesbury run over shelves, make-up and wigs whilst people are in the rooms.
Would anyone else work in such conditions?
Whatever happened to the theatre cat?

[Weez]

I rather suspect theatre cats have rights that make them non-viable for pest-control. I mean, there are reasons why exterminators don't just drive around with vans full of cats! Domesticated cats chase vermin for fun and instinct so wouldn't be inclined to empty a theatre of rodents. However, to keep a feistier cat and then not feed it in the name of encouraging it to feed itself on rats and mice would almost certainly count as some form of animal cruelty. Alas, a middle ground would be nigh-impossible to find.

[Yvette Price-Mear]

We went to see Billy Elliott and sat directly behind the M.D. - and watched two little mice jumping in and out of ladies handbags / shopping bags / shoes all through the performance.

We told the F.O.H. Manager and he said the place was rampant with them!

[Lynette]

That FOH comment could empty the West End faster than a swine flu alert.. it's pretty poor that they don't even try to keep the mice and rats down.

[meerkat]

EEk! Thats put me off Billy Elliot now! I was wondering if the problem with the Rolands and Mickeys were the crumbs of food left on the floor- but if that were the case surely cinemas would be infested as their floors are always covered in popcorn- but perhaps they are as well. I know the floors are cleaned between performances but if the rodents know there is always going to be a free lunch for them they will always make a beeline for the theatres ( sorry- overuse of metaphors methinks)

[Mark_E]

Not really surprising though to be honest. Im sure I read something saying you are never more than 2 ft away from a mouse/rat in central london.

[JonnyBoy]

I was watching Pygmalion at the Old Vic; it was in a key scene and we were on the front row. Suddenly a mouse started running along the floor in front of the stage. It was amusing to see each person flinching and moving their feet as the mouse made its way along the stage (I tucked my trousers into my socks!) Later in the same performance 2 butterflies came in from the side of the stage and started flying round actors' heads. I began to think we were in an open-air theatre!

P.S. Is St Martin's the theatre least likely to suffer from a mouse problem?!

[Michael H]

P.S. Is St Martin's the theatre least likely to suffer from a mouse problem?!

From 1981 until 2002, neither did the New London!

[Laughingmonsta]

although I did hear the Duchess only a few months ago were over ridden!

[Matthew Winn]

Most workplaces have rat problems, probably because they're empty for the majority of the time (especially in the small hours of the morning), and people have a tendency to eat snacks at work and leave the scraps around.

At the last place I worked many people would buy a packet of something like Haribo Starmix and leave the packet open overnight with the intention of finishing it off the following day, without ever stopping to consider that the poison traps around the building weren't there for decoration.