PeterT Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Thanks Bryson for clearing that up, I would recommend people look at the whole text that Bryson posted the link to, it makes very interesting reading. I didn't realise that you could cause contempt before a trial even begins, scary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
opman Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 All together now - & in the best possible taste.... "The hills are alive with the sound of [crash] ... oh ####" "Can we cut to 'Climb Every Mountain' please?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Just got back to the office from the Alex... You all seem to have much the same opinion of this 'event' as I do - how was this allowed to happen in the first place. It seems that members of the audience were invited onto the stage for a sing-along prior to the main performance. As loki said, the rider (apparently) warns of audience participation, and bear in mind that the show has been to this venue before. Howeve, in this case, the screen had been moved downstage quite some way from the last show, and hence the fore-stage area was much smaller. Someone should have foreseen this though. In the event, members of the audience moved onto the pit cover, which was not designed to be a load-bearing structure. Yes, there were signs (pretty big ones too) and yes, members of the crew/management/touring company tried to get people off the area but, as ever, by the time someone was acting on the problem, it was too late. The pit cover collapsed, not because there was so much weight on it (distributed), but rather because a rather large male member of the audienec decided to jump from the stage to the lower covered pit area.This shock load was enough to cause the cover to fail, and obviously once it started going it was a matter of momentum. Interestingly, only two thirds of the cover failed. You'd have rather been on stage left. Apart from that, I would thing that there have been reverberations around the whole UK industry, and that many senior management will be seriously looking at their H+S risk assessements etc. By the way, the HSE have cleared the theatre so far, and tonight's (different) show is going ahead. Just in case anyone feels like going...? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gareth Posted October 1, 2003 Share Posted October 1, 2003 Barney, it sounds as though you are speaking as a representative of the company who manage the Alex - is that the case? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loki Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 All together now - & in the best possible taste.... "The hills are alive with the sound of [crash] ... oh ####" "Can we cut to 'Climb Every Mountain' please?" I was wondering if "Singalongajourneytothecentreoftheearth" might be the next big thing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bryson Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 Barney, it sounds as though you are speaking as a representative of the company who manage the Alex - is that the case? Sounds more like he works for "Puppetry of the Penis" (which is, I believe, the next show). What a job, eh? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 "puppetry of the penis" ..thats a funnie show, had pleasure of seeing it in London a few years back! It's still going!! I didnt know that, thought it was just a fad...wonders never cease huh? ~ggg~ :D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barney Posted October 2, 2003 Share Posted October 2, 2003 No, I don't work at the Alex! Nor would I claim to represent them in any way whatsoever - it was nothing to do with me... I wasn't even there... you've got no proof...! I did however go in yesterday for a nose around and to find out the real story. Anything to get out of working for a bit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmarston Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 thanks to the b*stard Americans While I have no intention of turning this into a British vs. American thread, I did feel sufficiently offended by that statement to say something. Take a look at all the good American influence in this country, and how little Britain has contributed to any other country in the world - and how much Britain could perhaps learn from America - before you go making rash and offensive generalizing statements about Americans. We're not all b*stards as one might be seeming to imply. Kelli Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 how little Britain has contributed to any other country in the world:o :D :D :** laughs out loud **: :D :( :D :o :D :** laughs out loud **: :D :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 Meanwhile...Juliet's fall This fall from heights thing seems to be becoming a bit of a habit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James C Posted October 4, 2003 Share Posted October 4, 2003 OK, my tuppenny's worth... Agreed, Kelli, not all American's are b******s. Not all Brits are Angels. However,The compensation culture that still seems to thrive here is an American trend. And I don't know quite how you reconcile a lack of contribution by Britain with the following, taken from your website: When I'm not at or working in the theatre, I'm probably out exploring London. It's a fantastic city with so much history and culture And our stage management courses must have something to offer, if even you Americans traipse over here to attend them :blink: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stebee Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 I actually managed to get one of them angry enough to swear at me once! I hope you sued him for the mental anguish that that caused :blink: ste Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andy_s Posted October 5, 2003 Share Posted October 5, 2003 Meanwhile...Juliet's fall This fall from heights thing seems to be becoming a bit of a habit.this report seems a lot more worrying to me than the unfortunate events in birmingham - risk assesments for high level areas in stage sets are all to do with familiarity, rehearsal, predictability and control, otherwise all areas would have to be guarded with rails, harnesses etc etc. This seems to indicate that these safeguards don't always work. A risk assesment of the birmingham event would have to take into account the unpredictable nature of crowds of possibly slightly tipsy people, a RA of the performance would I assume rely at least partly on the "rehearsed repeated activity" argument to give an acceptable level of risk. what do other people think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ellis Posted October 8, 2003 Share Posted October 8, 2003 I thought I would share this here in the spirit of learning from this and hopefully avoiding similar incidents before any official report is available. Last night, I was talking with someone who had been in the Audience Last Friday Night (Juliet's fall)... [Caveat: Second Hand Information] She said that the actress sat on the balcony rail, lifting one leg up, but she looked as if she was going to swing both legs over. As a member of the audience hearing the poor girl's screams was very distressing. It took a long time for anyone to respond - the actor playing Romeo took command of the situation and it was a good three minutes before the curtain was brought down. A phone call on Saturday, to ask how the actress was, was greeted by "We cannot tell you anything" [/Caveat: Second Hand Information] She had not heard any news about Laura Rees's condition by last nnght so I was able to relay the information from the BBC report. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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