THE opening night of a star-studded production of The Master Builder in Malvern was cancelled - because of problems building the set.

Technicians at Malvern Theatre proved less than masterful when they needed extra time to prepare three large sets for the play, which should have opened last night.

And the classic Henrik Ibsen drama, starring Star Trek's Patrick Stewart OBE and The Royle Family's Sue Johnston, will now premire in Malvern tonight.

"I was surprised when I arrived and there were no cars around," said David Chapman, a ticket holder for last night's show.

"I asked at the box office and the theatre was very helpful, giving me a refund and complementary tickets for another night as compensation.

"But it was ironic that a performance of the Master Builder was cancelled because of problems building the set."

Two weeks ago, the theatre sent a letter to ticket holders explaining that the performance on Thursday, May 15, would be cancelled.

A spokesman for Malvern Festival Theatre apologised for the incident.

"We did send a letter and I'm not aware of anyone turning up last night but obviously we are sorry if they did," said Louise Russell.

"We decided to cancel the performance two weeks ago just to give the technicians a little longer to make sure everything was right.

"It does happen in the theatre and those with tickets for the first night have been allocated seats for other performances."

The Master Builder - a tale of one man's ambition, love and lust - opens tonight at the Malvern Festival Theatre, and runs until Saturday, May 24.