A star comedian has been forced to cancel her Southend show this evening after a studio within the Palace Theatre was closed off.

The Dixon Studio, which is within the Palace Theatre in Westcliff, has been shut after the council discovered the presence of reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete (Raac).

Raac had been used in constructions between the mid-1950’s and mid-1990’s, but has been the subject of intense national scrutiny this past week.

Over the summer, the Department for Education became aware that Raac can fail within warning, and all buildings containing this must now be taken out of use until mitigations are in place.

Following a sell-out run at London’s Soho Theatre, Lebanese-Essex comedian Esther Manito was set to perform at the Dixon Studio to a sold-out venue at 8pm this evening (September 8).

However, the event has been postponed after the closure of the studio.

Esther told her Twitter followers: "Guys, I'm absolutely gutted that my show in Southend tonight is cancelled, I'm so sorry to everyone who has bought tickets the theatre has got that Raac concrete, it's a very last minute cancellation. I'm absolutely gutted.

"Honestly, I cannot tell you. I was so looking forward to it, it was a sold-out show we were going to have an absolutely great time. 

"It's going to be rescheduled so please, please come back for the next date. We'll have an even better time." 

In December 2021, Esther made her Live at the Apollo (BBC Two) debut and a clip of her set went viral – racking up over 2 million views. Esther has supported Alan Davies, Shaparak Khorsandi, Sindhu Vee, Jason Manford, Jo Brand and Al Murray, has appeared on ITV's Stand Up Sketch Show, BBC Sounds’ Evil Genius with Russell Kane and Radio 4 Extra’s Newsjack Unplugged.