At a time of year when ridiculous dames, beautiful princesses and dancing children would normally be romping across the Earl Cameron Theatre stage while performing in the annual pantomime, the theatre’s well-worn boards are holding instead an edifice of scaffolding that soars into the upper reaches of the fly-loft.

The scaffolding, which has been erected by Bermuda Scaffolding Company Limited (BSCL), is in place to support the roof of the stage area while repairs to a roof truss damaged during the recent hurricanes are being made. It was those structural problems that have resulted in the postponement of this year’s pantomime.

The truss forms part of the support structure of the large expanse of traditionally built Bermuda roof of the building, which was constructed in the late 1950s. The repairs required an extensive and specifically designed scaffolding project to support that roof while repairs are being made.

Scaffolding was erected in the theatre basement, which forms the foundations of the building, in order to support the stage floor, on which in turn scaffolding was erected, rising into the fly-loft to support the roof, taking the load off the damaged truss so that repairs could be made to it.

Senior Engineer at the Corporation of Hamilton Ian Hind said: “We are assuming it was hurricane damage. John Waddell, who is a theatre lighting expert and based at the theatre, was aware there were some tiny leaks in heavy rain. He had strategically placed buckets (to catch any water) on the grid in the fly-loft.”

However, after Hurricane Gonzalo, Mr Waddell discovered there was a large amount of water on the stage floor.

He climbed into the loft area to investigate. “He could see that something was amiss.” When Mr Hind climbed into the fly-loft with Mr Waddell: “We could see the potential issue.”

He said: “We found the original plans of City Hall, which showed the original roof trusses. The drawings had written on them the calculations for the forces and loads the trusses were designed to carry — that information was like gold. We recruited structural engineers Mason and Associates Ltd.” He said the engineer, Philip Mason, used that information to make a computer model of the roof design and then determined how to fix it.

“He came up with the idea of using the scaffolding. Now, the scaffolding is taking the load, allowing us to make repairs to the wooden trusses,” he said.

Edward Lawrence, who is the owner of BSCL, said his company is often called upon to find scaffolding solutions for unusual projects. The stands, which provide shelter for Cup Match fans, are raised by BSCL, and they have also undertaken projects at the new wing of the King Edward VII Memorial Hospital and at Gibbs Hill Lighthouse.

Correia Construction is making the repairs, which consists of two lengths of steel angles, provided by St George’s steel specialists Mid Atlantic Steel Supply (MASS) that are attached to the wood beam and bolted through. This clamps the wooden truss.

“When we take the scaffolding away, the load is taken off the scaffold, and will be shared by the metal angles,” he said.

The repairs are slated for completion by Christmas, in time for the Bermuda Festival 2015 artists to take to the stage at the Earl Cameron Theatre.