The Stage

‘Crisis? What crisis?’ ask defiant West End theatre producers

Published Thursday 30 October 2008 at 11:50 by Alistair Smith

Exclusive: Theatre producers have hit back at claims that the West End has been plunged into a ‘credit crunch crisis’, branding recent reports of a box office crash as ‘hysteria’ and insisting there is no evidence that the global financial situation has yet caused shows to close.

Widespread national media coverage has claimed that the recently announced West End closures of Riflemind, Eurobeat, Avenue Q, Girl With a Pearl Earring and Never Forget are a direct result of the wider economic problems.

However, leading figures in Theatreland insist that the spate of closing notices can be justified with more traditional explanations such as poor reviews, lack of advertising or shows simply running their course.

They point out that while some might be struggling, many West End productions are, in fact, enjoying even better box office figures than this time last year - a year that broke box office records across the capital.

Michael McCabe, executive producer of Wicked in the UK, told The Stage that the show’s most recent week’s sales grossed £650,000 - the third highest figure at any time during the production’s run of more than two years. He revealed that every week in 2008 has so far out-grossed the equivalent week in 2007, with business overall set to be up by £1 million.

“It’s been interesting and frustrating to see these stories,” he added. “I lived and worked through the last recession and the West End survived extraordinarily well. While it’s tough on shows that aren’t doing well anyway, it seems to make no difference to the shows that are doing well.

“I wouldn’t deny that it’s tough out there, but the audiences are there, I just think they are being much choosier. That’s the key in these climates - if you’re spending your money, you want to make sure that you’re spending it wisely. I’m not pretending that there aren’t shows out there having a difficult time, but I think it’s related to all sorts of things, not just the credit crunch.

“Shows close because people don’t come and that’s for all sorts of reasons,” he continued. “It may be that you decide that’s because of a particular financial climate, but another show opens and it’s sold out.”

David Schrader, executive vice-president of Disney Theatrical Group, said that his experience mirrors McCabe’s. The Lion King - now in its tenth year in London - recorded its highest ever box office gross in the 12 months up to September - an increase of £1.2 million on the previous year.

“September and October were also up on last year,” he added. “I’ve viewed those initial press reports as a bit of hysteria. If you’re trying to launch a show or trying to keep something alive, then obviously this isn’t helping, but we’re in a very strong position heading into this headwind. It may be that things going forward get a little tighter, but at the moment it seems a little convenient to me [to blame closures on the economic crisis]. Shows closing and coming in is a natural evolution. If you look at the broader picture, you get a better picture of what crisis there isn’t.”

Nica Burns, chief executive of Nimax Theatres and president of the Society of London Theatre, was less bullish, but still pointed out that the two plays in her venues at the moment - Rain Man and Piaf - are pulling “significantly” better audiences than their equivalents this time last year.

“We have to take a pragmatic line,” she explained.

“When there is a world financial crisis, no industry is going to be immune, but so far we’re having a healthy autumn.”

Burns stressed that while she did not feel that any shows had yet closed as a result of the financial crisis, the effects could be more pronounced going forward.

The key to maintaining audiences, she believes, is keeping ticket prices realistic.

She added that, taken as a whole, West End figures were starting to dip significantly from 2007’s record year.

“Caution has to be the watchword,” she warned. “Looking into the crystal ball, to think that theatre will be immune would be foolish - we do need to plan for a little belt-tightening. Times are going to be hard and it is going to affect us.”