Curtain fire adds drama to panto

The Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs cast includes Lesley Joseph

Theatre goers at a Christmas pantomime had more audience participation than they bargained for when the stage curtains started to smoulder.

Snow White and the seven dwarfs were among those who had to leave after a pyrotechnic misfired at Cardiff's New Theatre and the building was evacuated.

No-one was hurt and the show, with Lesley Joseph as the wicked stepmother, restarted half an hour later.

The theatre manager said she was sorry the panto "became a bit of a drama".

South Wales Fire Service said they were called to the city centre theatre at 2106 GMT on Saturday and the fire was out on arrival.

Stars including Ms Joseph, Kai Owen and Gemma James were forced to leave the building with the audience as the theatre's curtains smouldered.

Management at the theatre said technical staff were able to deal with the incident, but the decision was taken to evacuate the auditorium on health and safety grounds.

'Unexpected

The theatre's manager, Susan Lewis, apologised for the disruption.

"I am very sorry that our family pantomime became a bit of a drama, however with live theatre sometimes the unexpected can happen."

She added: "I would like to thank my staff for the safe and efficient way they dealt with this incident, the fire brigade for allowing the show to continue and our audience members for their understanding."

Ms Lewis said she would like to assure anyone with a ticket that Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs would be continuing as normal for the rest of its run until the end of January.