Evacuation at Sunderland Empire School of Rock premier was due to false alarm, firefighters confirm
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Members of the public were evacuated from Empire Theatre on High Street West in Sunderland city centre shortly after 10pm on Wednesday, October 6.
The West End show was building to its big ending when an emergency alarm came over the tanoy, telling the audience to leave the building.
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Hide AdFirefighters were called to the scene, which has now been confirmed to have been a false alarm.
While the waiting audience hoped the show could resume, they were told firefighters advised against it.
The Andrew Lloyd Webber musical is based on the hit 2003 movie starring Jack Black and marked the comeback of West End shows on Wearside for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
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Hide AdA spokesperson for Sunderland Empire Theatre said: “For the safety of our audience, staff and visiting company, the theatre was evacuated last night 7 minutes from the end of School of Rock due to a suspected fire within the theatre which was in fact a false alarm. The Fire Service advised us not to continue with the show in order to allow thorough checks could be made.”