Disappointment as gremlins derail opening night

Nick Mohammed’s festive tale A Christmas Carol(ish) has had a bumpy launch in the West End – with the official first night performance abandoned after being plagued by technical issues.

Reviewers, comedians and industry figures had packed the @sohoplace theatre in London to witness the launch of the full-scale production, which also stars  Two Doors Down’s Kieran Hodgson, Ghosts’ Martha Howe-Douglas, and Borderline’s David Elms.

However, technical issues caused the performance to be abandoned about ten minutes in. After some time, Mohammed and Elms emerged to rousing applause to start the show again, but another apparent power failure scuppered the restart before it even got going. 

Eventually the show started more than 90 minutes after its scheduled curtain-up, with the first half finally running problem-free 

However, when the audience were back in their seats after the interval, the power failed again, and attempts to restart proved futile - with the devastated cast and producers coming to the stage to apologise, and receiving a prolonged standing ovation from the supportive audience. 

Similar problems blighted the show on Wednesdays, with that performance cancelled, and producers Berks Nest and the venue operators have decided to also cancel tonight’s show in a bid to resolve the issue.

Owned by Nica Burns and Max Weitzenhoffer’s Nimax, @sohoplace is the West End’s newest and most high-tech theatre.

A statement from the venue said: ‘We are devastated that the press night for A Christmas Carol (ish) could not be completed tonight due to technical difficulties @sohoplace. This the first time since we opened two years ago that we have encountered such a problem. 

‘We are working hard to resolve the issues at hand and are in total admiration of the extraordinary cast, production and creative teams led by Nick Mohammed, who have worked so hard to bring such a brilliant show to their audiences. 

‘Performances on Friday November 22 will not go ahead in order to give us time to fully resolve the matter. Audience members present at Thursday’s performance or due to see the show on Friday will be contacted by the box office team. We look forward to welcoming audiences back from Saturday.’’

Last night’s audience included Jack Whitehall, Martin Freeman, Julia Davis, Reece Shearsmith, Jamie Demetriou, Sophie Duker and Howe-Douglas’s Ghosts co-stars Charlotte Richie, Simon Farnaby, Mathew Baynton, Lolly Adefope and Laurence Rikard.

The show runs until New Year’s Eve and tickets are available here.

A review of a subsequent successful performance is here.

Published: 22 Nov 2024