London theatres forced to cancel shows after Covid afflicts cast and crew
London theatres have been forced to shut this week after a wave of Omicron infections hit the capital.
Venues have been impacted by cast and crew testing positive for Covid while customers have cancelled tickets for performances.
Productions forced to cancel shows include Aladdin, Bring It On, Cabaret, Cinderella, Come From Away, Dear Evan Hansen and Jersey Boys.
Almost half of the Society of London Theatre’s 44 members were forced to cancel performances over the weekend. Shows cancelled included big names including Hamilton, Matilda, Wicked and The Lion King.
The Young Vic also announced it would be cancelling several performances.
Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced on Tuesday afternoon that there would be £1bn in support for businesses most impacted by Omicron.
Within this, some £30m will be injected into helping support theatres and museums through the Culture Recovery Fund.
The Society of London Theatre said it welcomed the measures but said it was “now crucial” that the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport (DCMS) worked with the sector “to ensure funds are targeted to the businesses and individuals that need it most.”
This included those ineligible for emergency funding at the moment.
“If the situation continues to escalate, further assistance will be needed. We are so grateful to all our audiences who continue to champion our theatres and help the industry survive, providing a lifeline to the countless talented performers and staff around the country working tirelessly to keep the curtain raised,” the industry body added.
The organisation urged the public to “keep booking tickets if they are able to do so.”
Musical producer Sir Cameron Mackintosh told BBC News that bookings for early 2022 were lower than expected.
Mackintosh added: “It’s understandable why, but this is why we desperately need the government to step in and help the commercial theatre, because by and large the commercial theatre hasn’t had any help at all across the pandemic.
“We’ve all used our reserves to get the shows back up. At the point that we’re trying to recoup some of our losses, we are in a dreadful state at the moment and desperately need the government to help commercial theatre going through the next few weeks.”
Venues were being forced to make last-minute decisions about cancellations this winter, the producer said.
He said: “It’s literally day-to-day. We spend all morning trying to work out if we can do the show or not.”