The Patriots at the Almeida Theatre

WHEN it rains, it pours… into the Almeida Theatre, stopping a play midway through and forcing audience members from their seats.

The theatre was packed for a matinee performance of The Patriots on Wednesday. Perhaps thinking they had escaped the torrential rain outside, the audience had just settled into their plush red seats when the theatre’s roof sprang a leak.

“It was startling, and at first we thought it was part of the play,” audience member Joan Buck wrote on social media.

The actors took cover as an alarm rang through the building, calling for members of the public to leave by the nearest fire exit.

“We stopped to applaud before leaving,” said Pam Roach on Twitter.

This week’s rain has been blamed for the leak, which saw parts of the UK experience almost twice the average monthly rainfall for August in just three hours.

A spokesperson for the theatre apologised to audience members.

“We will contact all the audience members affected by the cancellation in the coming days,” they said.

The leaks had been fixed in time for the evening performance, and the theatre is now open again as normal.