A power cut at a theatre left hundreds of youngsters in the dark as they waited for a matinee performance to begin.

The lights went out at The Theatre Royal in Brighton just as the curtain was about to rise on yesterday's 1.30pm performance of Roald Dahl's The BFG.

The electricity supply failed due to an external problem.

The show was delayed for 40 minutes while work was carried out to restore power.

The power cut struck as the audience - many of them schoolchildren - entered the auditorium.

A theatre spokeswoman said: "The audience was left in darkness for no more than five minutes before our technical staff rearranged spotlights so the audience had light."