Canberran hip-hop artist Genesis Owusu was two songs into a sold-out show at Sydney’s legendary live music venue the Enmore Theatre last night, Thursday March 3, when the venue’s floor suddenly collapsed beneath the feet of eager concertgoers.
Reports from the scene tell us that thankfully, no one was injured during the incident. Owusu quickly stopped the concert and the venue was evacuated. The decision was made to reschedule the show, with Owusu addressing the audience:
“This is actually really dangerous. You guys are super sick [but] we’re gonna have to reschedule the show unfortunately because this shit is like a four-metre drop.”
"...This is really shit but [it's] going to go down in history. You guys are the craziest crowd – you broke the Enmore in two songs!”
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The Enmore Theatre addressed the incident in a Facebook post this morning, saying that the damage “occurred due to the impact of the relentless rain and excessive water inundating the suburb.”
The post also said: “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. We would like to thank Genesis Owusu and his touring party for working with us to ensure the safety of our patrons as a priority.”
Repair works are likely to affect upcoming shows from artists including Young Franco, Allday and King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard.
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
The 2,500 capacity venue had only recently reopened after a prolonged closure during Covid lockdowns and extensive renovations. The gig was also Owusu’s first in nine months, and marked the beginning of a national tour in celebration of his award winning debut studio album, Smiling With No Teeth. So, while no one was physically hurt, it is a massive bummer at a time when the music industry, and all of us, could really use a win.
With severe weather warnings and flash flooding alerts issued across Sydney and the central and southern parts of the state, everyone is advised to proceed into the weekend with caution.