Waxing lyrical: dripping candles cause mayhem at Sam Wanamaker Playhouse

http://www.theguardian.com/stage/2015/feb/06/dripping-wax-sam-wanamaker-playhouse

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The “groundlings” who stand in the pit of the open-air Shakespeare’s Globe theatre have long been at the mercy of rain, aeroplane noise and – in theory, at least – the odd passing bird relieving itself in mid-air. Now some audience members at the London venue’s newer indoor playhouse are having to contend with an unusual hazard of their own: hot wax dripping on them from a great height.

The Sam Wanamaker Playhouse aims to re-create, as closely as possible, the 17th century theatregoing experience, complete with authentically uncomfortable wooden benches and a stage illuminated by candlelight. Located in London’s South Bank, the venue is currently playing host to an acclaimed production of Jacobean bloody drama The Changeling starring award-winning actor Hattie Morahan.

But it is not just stage blood that is flowing. Some attendees have described how, while watching the gory goings-on unfold on stage, they have suddenly felt warm liquid running down their leg or spattering their clothing, only to discover it is hot wax dripping from one of the chandeliers above their heads.

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The Globe admitted it had become aware of a “disturbance” in the venue’s air system “that is causing candle wax to drip on to patrons in two seats in the pit”. With the problem yet to be resolved, the theatre has had to resort to contacting people who have booked the affected seats to tell them it is moving them to alternative seats. It is also offering to pay people’s dry cleaning bills.

B10 appears to be one of the seats where the risk of being doused in molten beeswax is especially acute. Writing on the Theatreforum website, one theatregoer who attended a preview performance of The Changeling said: “So here I was in B10 when suddenly I heard what sounded like the pitter-patter of rain and my leg felt warm... When I looked down I realised that some of the candle wax had dripped on to my trousers.” The man, calling himself Nicholas, said this happened intermittently during the first half, and that when he alerted the stewards during the interval, “they gave me advice on getting wax out of my trousers”, changed the candle, and moved everyone in the row back a seat.

Nicholas said he was considering making a complaint, adding: “It is a bit rich to spend £30 to have hot wax dripped on you.” Another forum member claimed B10 was “a terrible seat for getting dripped on,” while a third chipped in: “At one of the recent short story readings, a lady had a suede coat covered in drops of wax by the interval, and the response was ‘take it to a dry cleaners’”.

Those told they were being moved to alternative seats included people who had booked to see the next play in the season, Farinelli and the King, starring Mark Rylance, who is currently winning plaudits for his performance in the BBC’s Wolf Hall adaptation.

Part of the rationale for building the indoor playhouse, which opened in January 2014, was that it allowed the Globe to put on performances year-round; given the British weather, the main open-air space can only operate from April to October. The 340-seat timber structure has been widely praised by architecture and theatre critics, and certainly eliminates the hazards associated with alfresco entertainment, but appears to have introduced a few of its own. In addition to dripping candles, there have been complaints from some theatregoers that the 17th century style backless benches have taken a toll on their rears and backs, while Globe artistic director, Dominic Dromgoole, has himself admitted that some of the sightlines are “shit”.

A Globe spokeswoman said that as a temporary precautionary measure, it was reseating patrons who had booked the affected seats until the dripping candle problem was resolved. She added: “We always offer to pay dry cleaning bills for patrons who have had candle wax drip on to their clothes, and our front of house staff have been thanked by several affected patrons for how quickly and diligently the matter was handled.”

It appears some ‘victims’ even see being dripped on as a badge of honour. “One gentleman told us he would be framing the shirt he was wearing when wax dripped on to his sleeve, as a souvenir of his evening,” said the spokeswoman.