Theatre owners face jail if they twist critics' comments to mislead audiences

EU laws will make it a criminal offence to hoodwink potential audiences with carefully selected out-of-context quotes- a long-established practice in the theatre world.

In one recent example, a West End revival of Guys And Dolls was described as  "hilarious" in the blurb. In fact the full review had only said the original Fifties musical was hilarious, whereas the new production "falls somewhat flat".

Hilarious: Critics praised this original version of Guys and Dolls but a revival version fell 'flat'

Lawyers have warned owners and producers they must give careful thought to how they use such quotes. One recent survey suggested up to a third of West End shows are promoted by "praise" from reviewers whose full articles were actually critical.

Andy Millmore, head of advertising and marketing at solicitors Harbottle & Lewis, said: "If comments are taken out of context and cause me to spend £30 on a theatre ticket against my better judgement, that is technically criminal."

The ban on misleading blurbs is in the Unfair Commercial Practices Directive, an 18-page document from the EU that represents the biggest overhaul of consumer protection law in Britain for decades.

Article six says "a commercial practice shall be regarded as misleading if it contains false information and is therefore untruthful, or in any way, including overall presentation, deceives or is likely to deceive the average consumer."

Prosecutors would have to prove theatregoers were misled by the practice, called contextomy. If guilty, they could be fined up to £5,000 or face a maximum of two years in prison.

Daniel Astaire, cabinet member for community protection and licensing at Westminster council, said trading standards officers would take action if "misleading endorsements" persuaded theatregoers to part with their money.

He said: "West End theatre is world-renowned. It is vital to maintain this reputation. We will approach producers to warn them of possible breaches and ask them to desist if we feel there is malpractice. If such advice was ignored, only then would we consider action."

Richard Pulford, chief executive of the Society of London Theatres, said: "The implication is members are doing something now that in the light of this directive will be against the law. But there is very little chance indeed of current practice leading to any problems."

The use of critics' quotes is the subject of a gentleman's agreement between the society and the Circle of Critics.

The directive also tackles other industries with its "blacklist" of 31 dubious practices which include phoney closing down sales, unsubstantiated medical claims and claims that a product or service is "free" when there are hidden charges.