Fire stops Les Miserables performance as Soho's Queen's Theatre evacuated

The matinee performance of Les Miserables at the Queen's Theatre was cancelled today after a fire forced staff to evacuate the whole theatre.

The evacuation was caused by a small fire, which reportedly started inside the London theatre's boiler room.

Five fire crews were called to the incident at Shaftesbury Avenue and managed to extinguish the blaze.

The full cast, crew and audience members were asked to leave the building just 17 minutes into the performance for precautionary reasons.

Photos have emerged on social media of cast members, waiting on the street outside, still dressed in full costume.

Les Miserable is the longest running musical at the Queen's Theatre. The musical, set during the French Revolution, has been watching by over 54 million people from around the world, according to the theatre's website.

The three-hour musical is one of the most popular theatre shows in London and has been performed in 38 countries and around 21 different languages.

Located in the West End, the Queen's Theatre was opened in 1907 and was designed by architect W G R Sprague.