pensnest: Pullo looks disbelieving, says SRSLY? (Rome SRSLY says Pullo)
[personal profile] pensnest
Well.

A rather more interesting rehearsal than usual this evening, because when I got to the theatre, I found two youths in the hall when I turned on the light. All three of us were very much surprised, but the boys legged it before I could do more than shout "What the hell are you doing?!" I did pursue, but only briefly, realising that (a) I wasn't going to catch them, and (b) if I caught them, what then?

There was a ten-minute hiatus while I—and the two actors who arrived two minutes after the intruders departed—waited for someone to open the office door so we could get to the phone. During those ten minutes we investigated the fire door through which the boys had fled; they had gained entrance by chucking a quite large stone through one of the (double glazed) window panes, so there were glass shards (and a quite large stone) lying on the floor. We then observed that one of the TV monitors high on the side wall had been, hmm, tampered with and was at a rather drunken angle.

Once we got into the office it was clear that the intruders had been in there, too. There were money bags all over the floor (they hadn't been full, we keep a supply on hand), and the hatchway to our Box Office had been forced off its hinges—this was presumably how they got into the office, which is kept locked, though they might have got in with a credit card. The only thing we noticed was missing was a torch. But there were a couple of keys on one of the chairs near the bar entrance, which had been obtained from the office cupboard. The important keys are kept in a metal cabinet that is locked, so if the youths were trying to get into the bar—which was my impression, when I first saw them—they weren't going to get very far.

Anyway. I called our Hall Manager, and I called the police. After some faffing, because the police apparently do not have our building on their computer system, she dispatched officers, who arrived about half an hour later and did policey things like communicating in alpha-bravo-x-ray and instructing us sternly not to touch the evidence. (Which, surprisingly—because by this time everyone had arrived for the rehearsal—we had refrained from doing.) The whole thing was rendered almost surreal by the pounding background of Gilbert and Sullivan, as naturally the rehearsal must go on, even when there are three police officers in lurid green jackets doing their thing. They're sending someone tomorrow to do a more exact analysis of the situation, test the keys and door and broken panel, etc, for fingerprints, and so forth. Splendidly, there were Footprints on some of the chairs below both the monitors. Footprints! Well, trainer prints, anyway.

It was quite exciting. I'm still a bit amazed, because—really!

Date: 2013-03-06 01:40 am (UTC)
nopseud: (Default)
From: [personal profile] nopseud
Yikes! Thank goodness you're okay!

Date: 2013-03-06 11:52 am (UTC)
sperrywink: (Default)
From: [personal profile] sperrywink
Craziness!

Glad the youths were more scared of you than you had to be of them.

Date: 2013-03-06 03:47 pm (UTC)
laughingrat: A monocled man in a top-hat, wearing a devious and cunning expression. (Arsène Lupin)
From: [personal profile] laughingrat
Oh my god, that does seem a bit ridiculous. But well, I guess they figured they might find something worth nicking, but not a lot of actual security...

Date: 2013-03-06 05:04 pm (UTC)
chalcopyrite: Two little folded-paper boats in the rain (Default)
From: [personal profile] chalcopyrite
Eeep! I am glad they ran off, and hope the damage is easily enough repaired!

Date: 2013-03-06 10:37 pm (UTC)
turlough: space photo ((other) colourful space)
From: [personal profile] turlough
Eeeep! What a shock for you. (And presumably for them too :-) I'm really glad to hear everything went well.

Date: 2013-03-11 06:20 am (UTC)
frausorge: painting of a gray-faced figure in a maroon suit with shocked bulging eyes (believe)
From: [personal profile] frausorge
Holy shit! That sounds quite exciting indeed, I'm glad it was not more so!

Date: 2013-03-11 12:14 pm (UTC)
ephemera: celtic knotwork style sitting fox (Default)
From: [personal profile] ephemera
Yikes! that's entirely the wrong kind of excitement, although I'm glad there wasn't more damage done. The idea of you all rehearsing away to an audience of working bobbies is quite surreal! Did you have singing to do?

Date: 2013-03-06 02:03 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] puszysty.livejournal.com
Wow, sounds like quite the night.

Date: 2013-03-06 04:45 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] brandywine28.livejournal.com
Scary! I'm happy no one was hurt!

But seriously, of all the places for two teenage boys to rob...a theater? Wow.

Date: 2013-03-06 08:07 am (UTC)
From: [identity profile] iconis.livejournal.com
I wish you had chased them, because you would've confirmed my old belief that you are actually a superhero. NOW I'M STILL LEFT WONDERING.

Date: 2013-03-06 10:27 pm (UTC)
From: [identity profile] kira-j.livejournal.com
Good thing you didn't chase them, they could've been carrying a weapon! I'm glad you weren't hurt!!

Date: 2013-03-07 03:26 pm (UTC)
ext_1650: (Default)
From: [identity profile] turps33.livejournal.com
Oh man, that is scary.

I have to agree with Kira, though. I'm glad you didn't chase, you never know how people would react, or if they did have weapons.

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