It's awful news and really not expected in these building regulation days. I'm going to have to keep my wits about me in the next couple of days when I take my mother in her wheelchair to see Barry Humpries' farewell show at the Palladium.
I was thinking about this a lot last night. I don't go to the theatre as much as I used to, but I'm still in and around Shaftesbury Avenue quite a lot and am often at the Curzon cinema (which is just along the road and opposite the fire station). I was considering travelling into the West End tomorrow, but have decided against it (for a number of reasons, not all related).
I was watching the "morning newspapers" section on BBC News 24, and one of the guests reviewers was going on about the state of London theatres and how they need a lot of cash spent on improvements. He made an analogy with football stadiums and how the clubs made massive improvements during the late 80s after decades of lack of investment. While he spoke, all I could think was "Yeah, but that didn't happen until after the Bradford fire disaster..."