Rain stopped play at Chichester Festival Theatre causing a delay to a matinee performance of The Constant Wife.

Audience member Ann Saunders said the performance was delayed by about half an hour when “rain entered the auditorium through an open section in the roof.”

“Water fell in front of the stage, prompting stage-hands to mop up the area to the amusement of an unruffled audience.

“When the cast at last returned for the second half, they embraced the moment by ad-libbing about the delay and delivering an extended and humorous recap of the play so far. Although some theatre-goers had to renew parking or adjust travel plans, the audience left in a notably jovial mood, brightened by the amusing play and unexpected interruption on an otherwise dreary day.”

A CFT spokesman said: “Due to a technical problem with the hydraulics, roof vents in the Festival Theatre opened during the matinee performance of The Constant Wife yesterday (Weds, Jan 21). Our engineering team was able to fix the issue after an extended interval; we were very grateful to the company and our audiences for their patience and understanding.”

The Constant Wife is at Chichester Festival Theatre, until Saturday, January 24; also Brighton Theatre Royal from February 23-28.

Written by Laura Wade, it is based on the comedy by W Somerset Maugham, directed by RSC co-artistic director Tamara Harvey.