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The big West End showdown

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The success of shows such as The Sound Of Music have renewed fears among producers of plays

Frost/Nixon is estimated to be playing at 70 per cent capacity

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Blockbuster musicals are in danger of driving straight plays out of the West End, an Evening Standard investigation has revealed.

The success of shows such as The Sound Of Music, Spamalot and Wicked have renewed fears among producers of plays that they may not be able to compete for audiences.

Last week Summer And Smoke, starring Rosamund Pike at the Apollo Theatre, and Bent, with Alan Cumming at the Trafalgar Studios, announced they are to close prematurely.

An analysis by the Standard shows the gulf between plays and musicals. The top 10 musicals have taken advance bookings of at least £64.1 million - with The Sound Of Music and Billy Elliot alone accounting for £25.1 million. Tickets are barely available until spring.

In contrast just six plays in the West End which are currently running have not posted closing notices and even these have tickets available immediately.

Most musicals are playing to more than 90 per cent capacity theatres every night, but the most successful play - Rock-N'Roll - is at 80 per cent on average.

Frost/Nixon is estimated to be playing at 70 per cent capacity, while many other plays have even poorer performances, with nights early in the week frequently coming in below 50 per cent.

The financial crisis for all plays means that there are virtually no significant advance booking revenues and tickets are freely available on the day.

One theatre world insider said: "Plays are living from day-to-day and the success of musicals is not running off on them - if anything it is the opposite."

Today the bosses behind acclaimed productions are worried. Matthew Byam Shaw, producer of the Gielgud Theatre's Frost/Nixon, which is nominated for three Evening Standard Theatre Awards, said: "There has been a pile-up of musicals that has led to a car crash for the straight play.

"You have got to be really brave to put on a play at the moment. It's most likely got to have a Hollywood star in it or a British theatrical dame and I don't know whether either of them can survive in this climate. I think Frost/Nixon will be an enormous success but if it closes early I'll give up."

Sonia Friedman, whose hit plays include Rock 'N' Roll and Donkeys' Years, said: "It's being called a golden age for the West End but it's actually a golden age for musicals. Audiences are spoilt for choice, which is absolutely fantastic, but it's made us pause for thought. We have to find different ways to be noticed."

Producer Clare Lawrence, who brought Matt Damon, Jake Gyllenhaal and David Schwimmer to the West End, said: "Five years ago people were excited to see a Hollywood star on stage but now the bar has been raised. We're all finding it hard to compete."

There is to be no let-up by the musicals. Mel Brooks is to bring Young Frankenstein, based on his 1974 film, to London in 2008 and other musicals on the way include Hairspray, The Drowsy Chaperone and Jersey Boys. Plays opening next year include a revival of Peter Shaffer's Equus with Daniel Radcliffe.

 

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