Piccadilly Theatre to reopen to the public after ceiling collapse
© Brinkhoff-Moegenberg
After a portion of its ceiling collapsed mid-performance, the Piccadilly Theatre will reopen to the public on Monday 11 November.
On Wednesday 6 November, the show Death of a Salesman was stopped after 30 minutes when a portion of the venue's ceiling fell into the auditorium. The 1,200-capacity venue was evacuated at around 8pm and emergency services arrived on the scene shortly after.
Since then, the venue has been closed and scratch performances of the show have been performed at the Young Vic, which first hosted the production in its current form before the West End transfer.
A statement from Ambassador Theatre Group – which runs the venue – says: "We're sorry that the incident that occurred on Wednesday night at the Piccadilly Theatre has caused concern and disappointment to a number theatregoers. We want to thank our audiences, cast, staff, the emergency services, the theatre community and the authorities for their support following the incident.
"Our initial internal investigation has concluded that a section of plasterboard came away as a result of a localised water leak.
"We have been working very closely with Westminster City Council and we are confident that they will deem the theatre safe for use and grant permission to reopen to the public on Monday, provided the affected area is covered and off-limits until repairs are completed. We continue to offer all of our support to the Council's investigation.
"Accordingly, we are delighted to announce that it is our intention to resume performances on Monday 11 November. The Council will be undertaking a final inspection of the blocked-off area on Monday afternoon to ensure that there is no risk of the audience accessing the area or any other safety concerns. We therefore ask all customers to check this website after 4pm on Monday for final confirmation that the evening's performance is going ahead. Any customers who have booked seats in the affected area for periods in which repairs will be underway will be reallocated to seats in unaffected parts of the theatre or offered to exchange their tickets for a later date."
