The reason Matilda performances in Edinburgh stopped at the weekend revealed by producers

THE Evening News can now reveal the cause of the stoppages to performances of Matilda the Musical at The Playhouse over the weekend.
Matilda The MusicalMatilda The Musical
Matilda The Musical

Audience members were concerned, with children reportedly left ‘frightened’, when the cast had to leave the stage not once but twice during Saturday evening's performance. This followed previous stops on the Friday evening show and the Saturday matinee.

At the time the show's producers, the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) commented: 'Regrettably we had to stop the show during performances of Matilda The Musical at the Edinburgh Playhouse this weekend.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

'With a live show as technical as this one these rare stoppages do occur and we have to put the safety of the cast first.

'The decision to pause during a show isn’t taken lightly but was deemed necessary to allow the remainder of the show to continue.'

Show stops are not uncommon in touring productions, which use the latest technology to bring stories to life on the stage.

With many scene changes now computer controlled, a glitch in the system can bring a show to stop unexpectedly. The interruption, caused by the rebooting of systems.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Asked for more details about the weekend's stops, the RSC today told the Evening News: "The show-stops were due to a recurring but intermittent technical issue with the communications system connecting the eight departments running this very complex show.

"When it goes down, we have to stop the show for safety reasons.

"This has not happened before in the last year of the tour and we are doing everything possible to rectify the problem.

"We appreciate that any interruption to the show is frustrating and we are doing everything we can to ensure this doesn’t happen again.'

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Recent show stops in theatres across Edinburgh have been caused by scenery getting caught on lighting bars, a cast member taking ill during a performance, an on stage smoke alarm being triggered by a special effect and an audience member taking ill.

Related topics: