"The Phantom of the Opera" has permanently closed in the West End
Phantom of the Opera, London's second-longest-running musical, has been forced to close permanently on the West End, the show's producer announced.
Producer Cameron Mackintosh confirmed today in an article for the Evening Standard that the London production and its UK tour have been “permanently shut down” as a result of the coronavirus theatre closures.
He added that he and Andrew Lloyd Webber are “determined” to bring the show back to London in the future, however cannot do so with social distancing, which he called an act of “artistic and commercial bankruptcy”.
Webber added on Twitter that as far as he’s concerned, “Phantom will reopen as soon as is possible.”
Mackintosh owns eight theatres in the West End, which are home to shows such as Hamilton, Mary Poppins, Les Misérables and Phantom. He said: “As by far the largest independent employer in the West End it is not surprising that as both theatre owner and producer, with no outside investors, I’ve taken a huge financial hit.”
He asked the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, to provide the money needed to survive and a realistic time period to plan for reopening.
He said,
“Theatres aren’t meant to be dark, so please, Boris: “Curtain up, light the lights, we have nothing to hit but the heights”. We are all raring to go back to work. But we need the money to survive and a realistic period of time to plan wisely so that the curtain stays up once we reopen. We are fed up of no business, we want to be back in show business.”
Indoor performances have been allowed to take place from August with social distancing. Lloyd Webber led a pilot performance last week with new safety measures at his London Palladium, saying he was "grateful" but that "the Palladium is supposed to be full".