HUNDREDS of families were left disappointed after a technical hitch halted the production of a new ice show at the Capital FM Arena.
Families had been enjoying the multi-million-pound Ice Age Live! A Mammoth Adventure show yesterday afternoon when it was abruptly halted before the interval.
More than an hour later it still had not resumed and was eventually abandoned altogether as scores of families walked out.
Later, it was revealed that the hitch was caused by problems with a piece of scenery.
Susan Elston, 45, of Strelley Village, was there with her partner, Paul Robinson, and eight-year-old daughter Isabelle.
She said: "The first bit was amazing but then they stopped it just before the break and it didn't come back on.
"It wasn't very clear what was happening. At first, they said it would be 10 minutes. Then they said it would be another 20 minutes.
"We probably waited another ten after that but we had to go as the car parking was running out and we had things we needed to do last night.
"I guess these things do happen, but children don't understand that.
"Isabelle is really upset as she was so excited about it."
Mr Robinson, 47, said: "I don't know what went wrong, but if you're working with a lot of technical stuff I guess it can happen."
After the announcement that the show would not be continuing, all of the characters appeared on stage for the remaining audience. Each person was offered a free ice cream on their way out and a full refund, or the chance to return and watch one of the performances which will be held throughout the weekend.
Karen Shale, 42, of Sherwood, had driven to Liverpool to collect her children, aged eight and ten, from their grandparents so they could see the 3pm show.
She said: "The show itself started off really promisingly.
"I'm not so annoyed about the technical hitch because they can't really help that but I do think they could have dealt with it better.
"All you could hear while we waited was loud chatter and kids wailing. If they'd have just put some music on, or had a couple of the characters going round it would have been more bearable.
Stage Entertainment Touring Productions is the company which has produced Ice Age Live.
The show features acrobats, dancers and skaters, along with life-size puppets of characters from the first three Ice Age films.
It is visiting more than 30 countries on five continents during the five-year tour.
The producers apologised for the disruption the audience experience in Nottingham and assured people that shows tomorrow and over the weekend would not be affected and would go ahead as planned.
A spokesman said: "The producers of Ice Age Live apologise to the audience at the 3pm performance at the Capital FM Arena for the interruptions to the show.
"These were caused by unforeseen technical difficulties."
Anyone who attended will have the option of seeing the show again on Friday at 7pm, Saturday at 3pm or 7pm, or Sunday at 11am or 3pm.
Ticket-holders must contact the box office in person or by phone on 0843 373 3000.
Were you at Ice Age Live! yesterday at 3pm? Contact our newsdesk on 0115 905 1967 or e-mail newsdesk@nottinghampostgroup.co.uk
