A theater company that teaches performing arts for disabled adults has been forced to cancel its Christmas production after part of the ceiling of its venue collapsed.

Theater company Side by Side, based at The SideSpace in Stourbridge, said a large plasterboard fell and “exploded” at the venue.

The group of actors said that no one was injured in the incident, in the former church of St. Ioan, where he was rehearsing his Christmas concert.

The theater company is now in its 27th year and has performed at the Edinburgh Fringe as well as in Sweden and Prague and with Royal Shakespeare’s Open Stages.

The group said they were rehearsing for a week of festive shows when the plaster fell “without warning” on September 27.

“Fortunately, the only people in the building at the time were the secretary and two administrators, who were all in the office,” a spokesman said.

“Had anyone been near the falling plaster, the result could have been fatal.”

Company administrators have since attempted to have a professional contractor assess the ceiling, find out what caused the plaster to fall, test its safety and give them a quote for repairs.

But after weeks of phone calls and promises, no one stepped in to help them fix the situation.

Bosses now hope to make other venues in the area available for them to perform.

The actors continued the sessions in other parts of the church, but there is no room for the audience, the company said.

“We have inquired at other venues in the area hoping to perform elsewhere but everything is either booked at this time of year or they are not suitable,” added the spokesperson.

Since they acquired the Church of St. Ioan in 2019, they expanded their offering of performing arts courses to more people with learning disabilities and those with special needs.

The spokesman said: “Not being able to perform a Christmas concert this year is hugely disappointing for (the actors) and I still don’t know how long it will be before they can use SideSpace for performances again.”