Theatre collapse; London tickets may have become expensive, but how much is spent on the upkeep?

The Society of London Theatre - which represents producers and theatre owners - said in a statement: "The exact cause of the incident is still being investigated and the theatre owners, Nimax, are working closely with the relevant authorities to establish exactly what happened.

"Our theatres entertain over 32,000 people in central London every night and all theatres take the safety of their audience, performers and staff very seriously.

"Every theatre undergoes rigorous safety checks and inspections by independent experts, and incidents like last night are extremely rare."

The theatre - a Grade II-listed building - was completed in 1901 and seats 775 people over four levels.

People seem to be very quick to point a finger of blame before any enquiry has even taken place, so wouldn't it be better to wait and see what an enquiry comes up with instead of just guessing .

Personally I believe that if anyone person or company is found to be negligent no doubt they will be prosecuted .

Those building are 'so old' it was just a matter of time before 'this' sort of thing happened.

All these venues are/have been 'patched-up only' over the years - the facilities in them are of such low-low standard it beggars belief people even went into these now proved....death traps.!!

The different level tiers of the balconies are so steep - theres no way anyone could get out quick in an emergency.

These theatrical luvvies will 'cover-up' this incident as a 'one off'....no matter (again) all these other old theatres are 'creaking' under the weight of a full house attendance through lack of 'proper maintenance' etc.

Very little is spent on the upkeep of old theatres except cosmetically. Almost all West End theatres are owned by two large groups who have raised seat prices above the ability of the vast majority to pay. Result:

Lots of revivals of ancient plays or plays based on films with big film stars in the lead to attract the tourists. All the money goes on the stars plus no doubt excessive profits for the owners.

Westminster Council admitted in an interview on LBC radio last night that the only checks they make, are to ensure the fire escapes are in order

Cameron has already stated that lessons will be learned! These buildings are old and as old buildings do, the plaster fell off the ceiling. Same thing happened in Buckingham Palace during an investiture, the Queen was not amused! These buildings are Grade 1 and have to be repaired like as like so people who specialise in these things are expensive. We are not talking abut skimming over a ceiling/wall here but a proper hair/plaster job as it was when it was built. All this costs money which is skimped on until something happens.

It sounds like a long term problem that should have been spotted.

We had a water problem and the beams rotted away making the roof unstable.

do you know that at work they had to bring in builders to fix the roof and the fabric of the building that was in danger of collapse.

you can see water damage if there is water coming through the roof but if not the beams would rot away or water would weigh the roof down.

looking at the pictures the beams rotted away and the roof gave way.

lucky no one was killed

Its time to mind the maintenance if we have been negligent because all extra cash was being used just to stay on top of current bills to pay, electricity, gas, telephone, taxes, salaries of staff et al.

Lovies got wet,happens everyday at the football etc,.

creative accounting within the entertainment industry, is par excellence

As usual, somebody somewhere will have their 'fingers in the till'.