Theatre shows cancelled as area plunges into darkness but power is later restored

This article is more than 3 years old

This article is more than 3 years old

A power cut that plunged parts of central London into darkness gave a whole new meaning to Black Friday.

The cut, which started at 5.16pm, hit Soho, which was packed with tourists, shoppers and people enjoying the area’s bars and restaurants.



Harry Potter Play (@HPPlayLDN) This evening's performance of Cursed Child has been delayed due to the major power cut in central London and will now begin at 8.30pm.

Some West End plays, including Aladdin, Jersey Boys, Thriller Live, the Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time and Les Misérables were cancelled, with theatres offering refunds.

Eleanor Stennett (@eleanorstennett) When you get front row tickets to @AladdinLondon ... then it gets cancelled 😭😭😭 #London #powercut pic.twitter.com/PA0CmTq2hW

Lauren Tucker, whose sister and mother were planning on seeing Les Mis this evening after travelling into London from Bath and Bristol, said: “The tickets, which cost £318 for six tickets, so £52 each, were birthday presents and they are unsure whether they can travel back up to watch the show. They were purchased direct with the venue who will refund the tickets, but we assume no compensation is going to be provided in terms of hotel and travel,” she said.

The lights were back on at 9pm and other shows including Harry Potter and the Cursed Child were able to go ahead with a delayed start.

UK Power Network have revealed that the disruption was due to a faulty piece of equipment on their underground electricity network.

A spokesperson said: “All power supplies were restored by 9pm. We apologise for the impact this incident caused and for the inconvenience.” The company had earlier said that 2,300 properties were affected.

Thames Water also tweeted that water supplies could be affected in blocks of flats.