Perth Festival cancels film program after branch fell on UWA auditorium

Perth Festival has had to cancel five days of screenings of its film program at the University of Western Australia’s Somerville Auditorium after a branch fell at the rear of the venue on Saturday.

On Wednesday a spokeswoman for the festival announced the closure of the auditorium and cancellations of screenings of Black Dog until February 10.

Somerville Auditorium has been closed as arborists look at the tree.Credit: Perth Festival

“Perth Festival regrets that it has cancelled its Lotterywest Films program until Monday 10 February, following an incident last Saturday night when a branch fell at the rear of the auditorium,” she said.

“There have been no reports of any injuries and the festival is working closely with the University of Western Australia to investigate the incident.

“The University has closed the venue and engaged arborists to do comprehensive additional checks on all trees before the venue can be reopened.”

Ticket holders will be refunded automatically.

The Lotterywest film program is one of the most popular parts of Perth Festival and has been held at Somerville for several years.

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