The floor of Sydney’s Enmore theatre caved in during a sold-out concert on Thursday night, just weeks after the venue’s long-awaited reopening with the end of Covid restrictions.
A tightly packed crowd was gathered at the venue for a sold-out set by the Aria award-winning artist Genesis Owusu. But two songs in, the performance was abruptly halted when the floorboards appeared to give way underneath the carpet, forming a large dip.
“There’s a real deep drop … so this is actually really dangerous,” Owusu – who had won the Australian music prize for his album Smiling With No Teeth earlier that day – announced to his audience. “This is like a four-metre drop … you guys are the craziest crowd.”
In footage of the incident captured by the University of Sydney student newspaper Honi Soit, the ground can be seen undulating beneath the weight of attendees.
BREAKING: The floor of the Enmore Theatre has just collapsed. No injuries reported, the event occured just two songs into tonight's Genesis Owusu gig. pic.twitter.com/14TrjoC0zH
— Honi Soit (@honi_soit) March 3, 2022
Floor at the Enmore just collapsed two songs into @genesisowusu’s set pic.twitter.com/09rhjt0QKr
— Caitlin Welsh (@Caitlin_Welsh) March 3, 2022
Josh Milch, who was at the concert, described the event as “surreal”.
“I was conscious of the fact that the floor felt very bouncy,” he said. “I’m used to that at the Enmore to some degree – feeling like you’re on an old wooden ship.
“But all of a sudden, the crowd adjacent to me was considerably lower than they were before. People were befuddled and confused – the Enmore has a natural slope to it, but suddenly it felt like the familiar form had changed. It took time to understand what was going on.”
The music critic Bernard Zuel, who was also there, compared the sensation to “a cross between a water bed and a trampoline”.
A buckling floor - looking like a cross between a water bed & a trampoline - has stopped the @genesisowusu show three songs in. The crowd standing around it, security standing by too. Can’t see how it can go on. Any engineers in the house?
— Bernard Zuel (@BernardZuel) March 3, 2022
Venue staff at the theatre moved quickly, ushering people towards the edges of the dancefloor and into the foyers.
Owusu confirmed afterwards that no one had been injured. “All silliness aside, everyone is safe and in good spirits!” he posted on Instagram, promising to reschedule the performance, which was the first leg of his national tour.
Industry figures mourned the cancellation of a show that had been hailed as a bombastic return to Sydney’s nightlife, where live performance has been severely curtailed under New South Wales Covid restrictions.
“The sense is that the scene just can’t catch a break,” said Milch, who works as an arts producer. “This is meant to be a resounding return, an emphatic reaffirmation of Australian music – it was very unfortunate.”
Two years of virtually no gigs, @Enmore_Theatre dark for the bulk of it, gigs return, the show is sold out … then the floor collapses. This venue, this industry, just can’t take a trick.
— Bernard Zuel (@BernardZuel) March 3, 2022
Musician Nick Ward, who was also at the concert, said it was testament to the enthusiasm for live music felt by Sydney’s concertgoers after such a long break.
“It’s such a moment and just iconic,” he said. “I’m glad that I was there to witness it. If anything, maybe it’s the figurative breaking in of a new wave of people being excited about music again.”
In a statement, the Enmore theatre attributed the damage to “relentless rain and excessive water” in the Newtown area, causing structures under the carpet to shift and “[create] an uneven floor”.
“The floor of the theatre has been assessed and remediation works have commenced. We have isolated the section that was affected by water and are further reinforcing the surrounding areas as a further precaution,” the theatre’s statement said.
It was unclear whether the Enmore’s immediately upcoming shows would go ahead, although musician Allday confirmed on Instagram that his “gig on Sunday is still on”.
