West End production of The Phantom Of The Opera permanently closes 'and more shows will follow'
More shows will close and not reopen and more theatres will go out of business, the chief of the Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre has warned.
Producer Cameron Mackintosh has confirmed that the West End production of The Phantom Of The Opera has permanently closed, while the Theatre Royal in Plymouth and the Theatre Royal in Newcastle are among the venues announcing plans to make redundancies and Southampton’s Nuffield Theatres will close its doors for good.
Writing in the Evening Standard Cameron Mackintosh said: "Andrew (Lloyd Webber) and I have had to sadly permanently shut down our London and UK touring productions of The Phantom Of The Opera, but are determined to bring it back to London in the future."
However, in a short statement on Twitter, Lord Lloyd-Webber said:
Julian Bird said the longer theatres are closed, the more precarious their position becomes.
Theatres will be allowed to stage indoor performances with social distancing from August 1 but Mr Bird said this will change “pretty much nothing” because it will not be financially viable.