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Pensioners’ Misérables day
Theatreland power cut ruins special trip to musical for 500
FIVE hundred shivering pensioners waited outside a West End theatre for an hour after a power cut ruined their special day out.
Westminster Council had given the pensioners free tickets to a matinée performance of Les Misérables on Wednesday.
But Theatreland was plunged into darkness and they were forced to go home without seeing the show.
Pensioner Cheryl Elliott said: “I had really been looking forward to seeing Les Misérables and it was very disappointing to arrive to see a musical which I love and had been looking forward to, only to find that they had had a power cut and didn’t know when – or if –the show could go ahead.”
The pensioner had been given tickets as part of the council’s Older People Matter scheme.
Pensioners’ champion Councillor Christabel Flight got on the phone to theatre owner Sir Cameron Mackintosh, who has offered 500 free tickets to see the show another time.
Cllr Flight said: “It was extremely disappointing for all involved but, given the circumstances, they coped admirably. We waited up to an hour in the hope for the power to come back on, which is not an ideal situation for 500 over-60s in this sort of weather.”
EDF Energy apologised to the pensioners and to businesses in Shaftesbury Avenue.
A spokeswoman said: “Power was initially interrupted to 665 customers at 9.45am and our engineers [reconnected] supplies in stages during the day. We believe all supplies were restored at 4.50pm. We do understand how important electricity is to all our customers and would like to apologise for the inconvenience this caused.” |
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