The blaze destroyed most of the Grand Hall, the equipment store and offices and staff were today seeking an alternative space for shows scheduled for the gutted main auditorium.

No one was injured as 80 firefighters battled to stop the flames spreading from the hall at the rear of the site on Friday afternoon.

The aftermath of the Battersea Arts Centre fire


Jones, a patron and long-term associate artist, said: “It’s devastating.”

The Hunger Games star said it was brilliant that people wanted to help because, while the damage should be covered by insurance, the disaster meant immediate unexpected costs.

“I hope that people will understand what a crisis looks like. It looks like an inferno at the top of Lavender Hill,” he said.

Actor Toby Jones said it was brilliant that so many members of the public have donated (Picture: PJB/SIPA/REX)


“It’s an extraordinary building with an extraordinary history. Battersea is entirely committed to nurturing original artists at their birth.

“A lot of the theatre and film and television people enjoy will have had its roots in performers who learned what they do at Battersea.”

• 
  Battersea Arts Centre fire: Performances go ahead at historic venue after 80 firefighters battled to save ‘priceless’ building
  

• 
  Battersea Arts Centre fire: Investigators return to scene to probe devastating blaze
  

• 
  Battersea Arts Centre fire: well-wishers donate to cultural hub’s restoration after blaze
  

• 
  Bystanders watch in horror as huge fire breaks out at Battersea Arts Centre

Artistic director David Jubb said a new home was needed for all Grand Hall performances. Battersea Power Station owners have offered help and a £100,000 donation.

The front of the building will operate as normal and performances resumed on Saturday.

The main phase of a £13.5 million capital programme should proceed as planned in the middle part of the building and parts of the Grand Hall organ were off site for restoration.

Mr Jubb, who said firefighters were “extraordinary”, did not know the cause of the blaze.

In flames: After the Battersea auditorium was destroyed in the fire, artistic director David Jubb sought a new venue (Picture: Lucy Young)


He said: “Access to the space is quite hard. But we will make sure that stuff will go on.

“Having a fighting fund to get us through this period will prove essential. People’s reactions have been overwhelming. We’ve had hundreds of emails.”

The National Theatre has offered a rehearsal space and ticket-holders for other events will be contacted soon.

More than 50 residents of a 10-storey Marylebone apartment building were evacuated after a fire broke out in an eighth-floor corridor at 10.15 last night.

Sixty firemen spent two hours bringing the Crawford Place blaze under control.