Preview of his new show in doubt

The first UK performances of Daniel Kitson's new show are in jeopardy following a major fire at London's Battersea Arts Centre.

The comedian was due to start a run of work-in-progress performances of Polyphony on Monday, ahead of its debut at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

However fire ripped through the historic building tonight, taking 80 firefighters almost four hours to bring under control.

The London Fire Brigade deployed 12 fire engines and two aerial appliances - similar to cherry pickers - to fight the fire from above.

The fire affected a part of the building which had been under refurbishment, and its roof, and smoke could be seen for miles around.

The venue said via Twitter: 'We will not be running any performances this evening or tomorrow' but has not yet made any announcements beyond that – with more news promised soon.

Kitson is due to perform Polyphony for six days from Monday, with up to three shows a day. The play is described as having 'pretty epic scope, a relatively grand vision and somewhere in the region of 20 characters' – all of whom Kitson has pre-recorded on to a separate tape. During the show, he will play them back in 'precise unison [to] form a glorious theatrical polyphony'.

All staff of the arts centre escaped unharmed, and management thanked emergency services for handling the situation 'rapidly, safely and compassionately.'

Speaking from the scene, fire station manager John Snelgrove, said: 'This is a large, challenging fire and crews are working hard to bring it under control'

The brigade was called at 4.15pm and the fire was under control by 8pm. The cause of the fire is not known at this stage.

Cardinal Burns are also due to play the arts centre later this month.

The National Funding Scheme has immediately launched a drive for cash to help save the building, which was built in 1893 and formerly served as Battersea Town Hall untul 1965, becoming an arts centre in 1979.

Published: 13 Mar 2015