Performers take to park bandstand after Eastleigh theatre evacuation

Their performance of Robin Hood at The Point, in Eastleigh, was interrupted 15 minutes into the second act after an overheated light caused the fire alarms to go off.

The 140-strong audience made their way to Leigh Road Recreation Ground for the impromptu interval, but the clever cast decided ‘the show must go on’.

The Mountbatten Players took to the park, chatting with the audience, before leaping to the bandstand for an al fresco rendition of Men in Tights.

Cindy Hewitt, 40, of Stanmore Lane in Winchester, was watching with her three children, Owen, 10, Ashley, seven, and Lucy, five, and said the spectators enjoyed the surprise.

“They didn’t have to do that,” she said.

“It was really cool. There were loads of people in the town centre wondering what was going on in the middle of the park.”

Mrs Hewitt said as the curtain went back up good-spirited firefighters took to the stage, before letting the show continue.

She said: “Once we went back inside throughout the rest of the performance the cast kept making reference to fire alarms. It was really quite funny. Rather than something that was pre-scripted it was nice that it was slightly more impromptu.”

Jade Mizen, marketing manager of The Point, said: “It’s a rare occasion that we have to evacuate the building during a performance but we were delighted that the cast of Mountbatten Players were on hand to entertain the audience. Thanks to our efficient staff team the show was back up and running within half an hour.”

Helen Wood, chair of Mountbatten Players, said it was a very special performance.

“It was literally impromptu because we had no idea how long we were going to be out there and we wanted the audience to stick with us,” she said.

“We always want to involve the audience in some way, it is panto after all!”

The group raises money for Countess Mountbatten Hospice in Southampton and in total £1,000 was donated from all their Robin Hood shows.