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West End's Gone With the Wind is damned

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Closing: Darius Danesh starred as Rhett Butler in the ill-fated production of Gone With The Wind

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• Review: Gone With The Wind

One of the most hotly anticipated West End shows of 2008 is to close after only two months.

Trevor Nunn's £4.5 million production of Gone With The Wind will put on its final, 79th, performance on Saturday 14 June.

It was condemned in savage reviews when it opened in April, with Nicholas de Jongh giving it one star under an Evening Standard headline: "Frankly, this show is damned."

Few of his colleagues were more polite in their judgments of a production which ran to more than four hours in previews and was still a long three-and-a-half hours on opening night.

Further cuts failed to help and theatre insiders quickly predicted it would not survive.

Darius Danesh, a former Pop Idol contender, starred as Rhett Butler with Jill Paice, an experienced musicals star, as Scarlett O'Hara. Both were largely well received.

But they were unable to work magic with a bland book and music by Margaret Martin, an American public health expert in what was her first foray into writing musicals.

Aldo Scrofani, the producer, said: "Despite the critical response, the company have enjoyed much praise from audience members during our run and for that we are grateful. Nevertheless we have made the difficult decision to close the production."

Those with tickets for performances from 16 June onwards are asked to contact the original point of sale for refunds.

 

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