Assembly Rooms left in the dark by power cut

HUNDREDS of Festival-goers were turned away from Edinburgh’s newly refurbished Assembly Rooms on Wednesday after an electrical fault left the biggest space in the building with no power.

People who had come to see Stewart Lee and the following show Return of the Lumberjacks were given refunds or offered tickets on alternative nights.

Earlier this week comedian Russell Kane had to relocate his show from the George Street venue to the Pleasance for one night because of problems with sound quality.

And last week around 1250 concert-goers were left disappointed when a performance at the Usher Hall by the London Philharmonic Orchestra was cancelled at the last minute due to a power cut.

Assembly Rooms director Tommy Sheppard said: “We had a serious electrical problem which was caused by a faulty distribution board. We are extremely sorry. It was beyond our control.”

He said several hundred people had to be turned away from the building after the power in the Music Hall went down for three hours.

This is the first year Mr Sheppard has run the Assembly Rooms after winning the contract from Edinburgh City Council, which has refurbished the Georgian building.

Shona Clelland, general manager of the Assembly Rooms, said: “We very much regret the fault in one of the circuit boards and have worked with our contractors to resolve this. We’re very confident that there will be no disruption to future performances.”

Mr Sheppard said those turned away had been offered a full refund or the chance to come on an alternative night.