That's very sad. I can't imagine something like that happening while you're watching a show, as you're usually not fully in your own mind, and reality is being altered during the play - I'm sure something like this happening while you're at the show is very, very disorienting.
Just the thought of being in a theater with the roof collapsing sends chills down my spine. It must have been a truly horrendous experience.
I also wonder how much they check into stability of such old theaters. That theater is older than any of the proper Broadway houses, but not by much. Hopefully they keep them up to code, especially after this.
They just interviewed an engineering professor on NBC and he said that NYC building codes are stricter and that buildings that regularly hold more than 75 people are examined every year by the Fire Department. They're primarily looking for fire code issues, but any glaring structural issues would be reported to the Buildings Department.
When I see the phrase "the ____ estate", I imagine a vast mansion in the country full of monocled men and high-collared women receiving letters about productions across the country and doing spit-takes at whatever they contain.
-Kad
UK theatres are regularly inspected and roof structures are "rated" which means architects have to agree to a maximum load that can be hung on trusses from the roof.
The early indications are that the collapse was not in the immediate vicinity of bars holding technical equipment- but obviously the details are sketchy just now.
The general condition of the building may be more of an issue, and such matters tend to be addressed by the Health & Safety Executive only when complaints are raised. However, it is far too early to be pointing fingers yet- inspectors are still waiting to be told it is safe to enter the building by the emergency services.
Most importantly, apart from wishing the injured a speedy recovery, it should be said the front of house staff responded superbly in evacuating the building, and the fire brigade was in attendance within 3 minutes.
I have been in that very theatre (and most of the others in The West End). It's amazing they haven't had more problems like this. That theatre was build 112 years ago and eight times a week, the load of each balcony practically doubles, then goes back again. That HAS to cause flexing and amazing pressure over all those years. It's not going to stop me from going to the West End, but it DOES make you wonder, is it safer to be in the stalls (and avoid the fall but possibly have the theatre fall on you, or be in the balconies and avoifd the crushing but get injured in the fall? Horrible pair of choices.....
Well, I've been to many West End theatres, but I've never thought about the roof collapsing. What DOES scare me is the idea of fire. Many of those theatres have tiny and narrow winding steps down and down into the theatre. I can't help but think every time I enter one of those older houses, how horrible it would be if there were a fire.
It is my understanding that it was not the roof that collapsed. It was the ceiling, which is a finish material and not structurally significant. If a ceiling collapses, it is usually due to one of two things: 1) someone has attached something to the ceiling structure that it was not designed to hold (such as heavy lights or a heater), or 2) a buildup of moisture in the ceiling material has caused it to become too heavy and saturated to be supported by whatever fastening system is in place. Given what we know, the assumption in this case would be the second circumstance. However, the assertion that the collapse was caused by a sudden downpour is ridiculous. Buildings, even very old ones, are designed to allow water to drain from the roof. If the water did not drain properly, it is a result of poor building maintenance. If the ceiling became so saturated that it collapsed, it is likely that the roof had been leaking for some time. A sudden, catastrophic leak would have resulted in a lot of water leaking in prior to any collapse.
My guess is that the roof structure itself is sound, but that poor maintenance practices caused the ceiling to break free from the roof structure. Perhaps more information will cause me to look at this differently, but my first impression is that this was easily avoidable.
Unfortunately this sounds like a very feasible and highly probable summary of the incident Back Row, although obviously it is still a little early to know for sure.
If you could continue on to explain the principles of: cantilevering, sprikler systems, fire doors and the use of flexible building materials we may yet get Phantom, Patash and allofmylife back into a theatre without a hard hat or the onset of a panic attack brought about by an imagined fear of burning/being crushed to death.
This is a wake up call to all of us in the industry. Loving the old theatres requires eternal vigilance or else we sacrifice losing them. The odd thing is that London already has a system of ratings & was surprised to see some of the theatrical spaces referred to as 'grade II listed buildings' as though people need to consider whether the risk of danger is worth it? The Apollo was labeled as 'grade II' & according to Londontown.com it was/is "the first West End theatre of the Edwardian Age, it has a pleasingly over-the-top design that takes in facades, statuary, & a gypsy coat-of-arms that was intended to bring good luck. Vertigo sufferers may wish to know that the balcony at the Apollo is said to be the highest in London, a design that was intended to improve the acoustic for musicals. Playing host mainly to relatively small-scale shows rather than more obvious crowd-pullers, this compact theatre's fate is now in question.
Water is the worst enemy of any structure. Simply keeping a building dry can extend its life for decades. And keeping a building dry is a relatively easy task. It can be expensive at times (when a roof has to be replaced), but not nearly as expensive as repairing the damage resulting from water leaking into the building. The answer is not more inspections. Much of the damage caused by water is undetectable by routine inspections. The answer is a strictly regulated building maintenance procedure.