Four theatregoers taken to hospital after incident during Death of a Salesman stage show

This article is more than 10 months old

This article is more than 10 months old

A theatre in the West End of London has been evacuated after part of its ceiling collapsed during a show.

Emergency services were called to Piccadilly theatre shortly before 8pm on Wednesday after part of the ceiling crashed down into the auditorium.

Witnesses described hearing screams from audience members, who had been watching a performance of Death of a Salesman.

Three men and two women were treated by paramedics at the scene for cuts and injuries caused by falling debris, London ambulance service said. “Four of them were then taken to hospital and one was discharged after treatment,” a spokesman said. “A further two people declined treatment at the scene.”

London fire brigade said: “Firefighters are attending the Piccadilly theatre where a section of plaster has fallen from the ceiling during a performance. Around 1,100 people evacuated the theatre before we arrived.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest A photograph from the Twitter feed of @KBGDunn showing the hole in the ceiling at the Piccadilly theatre.

The Metropolitan police said emergency services remained on the scene and road closures were in place around the theatre.

Journalist Martin George, 41, who was sitting in the grand circle, said there were screams coming from the audience as part of the ceiling fell.

George said: “About 10 minutes into the performance you could hear this slight dripping sound in the [grand] circle and people were looking around, wondering what was happening, but the play carried on.

“As the minutes passed, the dripping became more frequent and it sounded like more water was coming through the ceiling, causing a few people to get up and move.

“The sound eventually got so loud that we stood up and started to leave, as we were wondering what was going to happen.

“Then, as we stood up, this huge chunk of ceiling, about three to four metres across, crashed down. There were people screaming at that point and everyone got up and streamed down the stairs.”

The theatre had been showing the critically acclaimed restaging of Arthur Miller’s play, with Wendell Pierce in the role of the protagonist, Willy Loman. Pierce told a crowd outside the theatre: “I did not mean for it to go like this. We are so honoured that you came tonight. We are so sorry that unfortunately this happened.”

Video was shared on Twitter of the evacuated audience gathering in the street:

Molly Brean (@amerikanskaya) Ceiling collapsed at Piccadilly Theatre before #DeathOfASalesman , but @WendellPierce is undeterred! 😍 pic.twitter.com/aoJVMXYUaT

The Met police tweeted: “Everyone is out of the theatre. A few people have suffered minor injuries. Road closures in place. Motorists advised to use alternative routes.”

It is not the first time a ceiling has collapsed in a London theatres. In 2013, 80 people were injured - seven seriously - after part of the Apollo theatre’s ceiling collapsed on them.

More than 700 people were inside the Shaftesbury Avenue venue - which was 45 minutes into the National Theatre’s performance of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time - when the incident took place.