Piccadilly Theatre London: Four injured as ceiling collapses during Death of a Salesman performance in West End

At least four theatregoers have been injured after a ceiling collapsed at the Piccadilly Theatre in London's West End.

Around 1,100 people were evacuated from the building during a performance of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman on Wednesday evening.

Witnesses described hearing screams from audience members as more and more of the ceiling fell down in shocking scenes.

Police were called to the venue in Denman Street at around 8pm after a section of plaster crashed into the auditorium.

Everyone filled the streets outside.
PA

Four people were rushed to hospital after paramedics treated the injured at the scene, a London Ambulance Service spokesman said.

Police said the casualties suffered minor injuries.

Journalist Martin George, 41, who was sitting in the Grand Circle, said there were screams coming from the audience as the plaster came tumbling down.

Piccadilly Theatre ceiling collapse - In pictures

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Mr 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.

Firefighters outside the Piccadilly Theatre
PA

"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.

Firefighters outside the Piccadilly Theatre, London, after it was evacuated when part of its ceiling crashed down into the auditorium
PA

"There were people screaming at that point and everyone got up and streamed down the stairs."

Pictures posted to social media showed a gaping hole left above the seats as well as hundreds of audience members pouring into the street outside.

The venue is currently showing an adaptation of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman, starring Wendell Pierce.

Pierce, who plays protagonist Willy Loman, 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."

Firefighters outside the Piccadilly Theatre
PA

In a statement on Twitter, the Met's City of Westminster Police said: "Police on scene with LAS & LFB at Piccadilly Theatre in Denman St #Westminster after reports of a ceiling collapse around 7:59pm​.

"Everyone is out of the theatre. A few people have suffered minor injuries. Road closures in place. Motorists advised to use alternative routes."

London Fire Brigade shared a picture of the damaged roof on Twitter.

The brigade said: "A section of plaster has fallen from the ceiling during a performance. Around 1,100 people evacuated the theatre before we arrived."

The Ambassador Theatre Group, which runs the venue, said: "We take the safety and security of our audiences extremely seriously and we are doing everything we can to ascertain the cause of the incident.

"We would like to sincerely thank the audience, our staff, and emergency services for all of their assistance in the evacuation process.”

It is not the first time a ceiling has collapsed in one of London's theatres.

In 2013, about 80 people were injured, seven seriously, after part of the Apollo theatre's ceiling collapsed on top of 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.

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