Vulvarine – A New Musical

March 2nd – July 12th, UK Tour

Fat Rascal Theatre are proud to announce the cast of the UK tour of their hit Edinburgh show Vulvarine, which tours through Spring 2019.

***** “funny, silly and smart (…) catch it while you can” Funny Women

Writer-performer Robyn Grant is a writer-performer trained on East 15 Acting school’s Acting and Contemporary Theatre course. Her piece Tom and Bunny Save the World played at York Theatre Royal and Edinburgh Fringe Assembly George Square, and was shortlisted for the Les Enfants Terribles Award 2017, the Eddies Award 2017, and won Best New Writing- Fairy Powered Edinburgh Fringe Awards. She is currently redeveloping her show Buzz: A New Musical (Shortlisted for Les Enfants Terribles Award 2016, Winner of The Stella Wilkie Award 2016, Winner of the Eddies Award 2016, Winner of The Otherplace Balkan Award 2017), and is the founder and Artistic Director of Fat Rascal Theatre.

She is joined onstage by frequent collaborators Jamie Mawson, Allie Munro and Katie Wells (Beauty and the Beast: A Musical Parody, King’s Head Theatre and UK tour; Buzz: A New Musical, Brighton Fringe, York Theatre Royal, Edinburgh Fringe; Tom and Bunny Save the World, Edinburgh Fringe), and new company member Steffan Rizzi (The Secret Garden, The Barn Theatre; Pobol y Cwm and Respectable Girls, S4C)

***** “Fat Rascal Theatre are very quickly establishing themselves as a champion of British Comedy Musicals” DIVA Magazine

Following an outpouring of new superhero musicals with a male protagonist, Vulvarine is a tongue-in-cheek comedy with a feminist message; and after the release of superhero movies with a social and political focus such as Black Panther and Wonder Woman, Fat Rascal Theatre believe that now is the time for a new politically relevant superhero musical, combining pop culture and musical theatre with gender discussions to create a fresh, funny and relevant new show.

Winners of the Otherplace/Balkan Award, the Eddies Award, the VAULT festival ‘Festival Spirit’ Award and nominated for an Off West End Award, Fat Rascal Theatre has quickly become a home for new musical theatre, having written and produced 5 new musicals since its inception in 2016, including sell-out Edinburgh show Buzz: A New Musical. It is a company run by women, discussing social and political issues through an accessible and appealing format to engage a wider audience. They believe that theatre should aim to inspire, educate or liberate and should be available to everybody.

Glasgow Kings Theatre – until 26 January 2019

Reviewed by Linda McLaughlan

5*****

GLASGOW ARE YOU READY TO ROCK?

The audience at Glasgows’ Kings Theatre were ready to rock from the opening number clapping as though they were in the front row of a 1980s Rock Concert complete with spandex and a crop of Big Hair.

This is an American love story set to over 20 classic hard core rock anthems from the 1980s between Sherrie and Drew (Jodie Steele and Luke Walsh). Both have ambitions to making it Big (as an actress and a rock star respectively). They meet for the first time when Sherrie has her purse robbed by an opportunistic thief. The fall in love, fallout due to Drew misunderstanding and not reading the signs given off by Sherrie and eventually getting back together.

The scene is set on Sunset Strip in LA between two bars, The Venus (a gentle-man’s Bar) and the Bourbon Room a run down bar that hosts live bands every night.

Rock of Ages is narrated by Lonnie (Lucas Rush) a failed singer who is now a bar tender and a self proclaimed sound engineer. Lonny deliberately injects a brand of humour which is both cheesy but extremely witty and unpredictable full of one-liners, such as “I’m no Andrew Webber Sondheim”. But sings and acts his part to an extent that he makes the show and takes us away for a night of fun and escapism.

The music, staging, set up and singing is outstanding and encourages the audience to participate to Rock Anthems played by a live band of actors/musicians, such as We Built this City, Here I go Again, I Wanna Know What love Is, The Final Countdown and ending with Don’t Stop Believing which is the real anthem to the show as Sherrie and Drew try to find what it is they want and need.

The understanding required of the cast entirely made this show come alive from the owner of the Bourban Room, Dennis, (Kevin Kennedy) an old hippy who loves his bar and his passion for rock music which is played in it nightly to The owner of the Venus Club, Justice, (Zoe Birkitt) a soul singer who could bring the roof down with power of her voice or make you cry with the soft soulful vibes that she can sing. She found it tough getting a record deal then opened a lap dancing club just for gentlemen with money she saved rather than go back home.

Also bringing the house down is an unrecognisable Kevin Clifton From Strictly Come Dancing who Plays Rock God Stacee Jaxx. Clifton is a classic box office draw but shocks everyone with his dodgy wig and costume and a decent vocal range which is a revelation to all.

To produce this type of show it is obvious that the whole cast are talented making these rock anthems sound seamless with little effort especially Lucas Rush who deserved to be centre stage as Narrator Lonny.

Rock of Ages is in itself an advert for the 1980s and all that went with it. The breakneck pace at which it goes from first curtain to the final bows containing bucket loads of laughter and some of the best vocals and musicianship heard in Glasgow or any other stage for that matter.

Rock of Ages is guaranteed to keep your spirits high whilst putting a tune in your head that wont leave for days.

Outstanding!!

Manchester Central Library, St Peter’s Square, Manchester, M2 5PD

2084 is an exciting new immersive production inspired by Orwell’s dystopian novel. It takes the audience inside a totalitarian state that monitors every act, word and thought of its citizens. In the era of Facebook, Google and Amazon, when everyone is tracked, analysed and influenced, George Orwell’s powerful vision has never been closer to realisation.

The production is set in a future where the state claims be the only guarantor of order but order comes at the price of absolute obedience. 2084 tells the story of two people who defy the regime and find that their intimate secrets are turned against them with shattering consequences.

Writer Adam Taub comments: When it was published, Orwell’s novel shocked readers with its vision of the future. 2084 updates that vision and explores how fragile are the freedoms that we take for granted.

This immersive experience places the audience at the heart of the action. Each person must decide what price they would pay to defy a regime that seeks to control them. Starring Aamira Challenger (Romeo & Juliet, Ostalgie), Robin Hellier (The Lehman Trilogy, The Hunted) and Simon
Gleave (Bleak House, Metamorphosis), 2084 is directed by immersive theatre expert Rosanna Mallinson (Silhouette in the Smoke, Dead Quiet).

The production is being premiered in Manchester Central Library. It is presented by Pure Expression, the immersive theatre company behind the sell-out production of Frankenstein in 2018. Pure Expression is an immersive theatre company that reimagines classic stories in unique locations.

Berwick Kaler Foundation aims to bring together theatre and community

As Berwick Kaler’s 40-year reign as pantomime dame comes to an end, York Theatre Royal has launched a fund to celebrate and continue his legacy.

“The Berwick Kaler Foundation will enable us to bring families, friends and communities together to share experiences and enjoy theatre in all its many forms,” said Executive Director Tom Bird.

“We want our pantomime audiences and our whole community to support the Berwick Kaler Foundation and help us to grow the YTR family.

“The theatre strives to be a place where everyone feels they are welcome and that they belong. We want to be accessible to all. We want our community to have a stake in what we do. We want to continue to engage, inspire and excite.”

The Sylvia and Colin Shepherd Charitable Trust, long-standing supporters of the theatre, has started the Foundation with a donation to support the work YTR does across the year in the community, particularly for children and young people.

The theatre’s target is to raise £200,000 in two years.

Berwick, whose final pantomime The Grand Old Dame of York marks his 40th anniversary as York Theatre Royal’s Dame, will be the Patron and figurehead of the Foundation. His role will include hosting fund-raising activities.

One of the first projects taken up by the Foundation will be funding the Access All Areas project for 12 months at a cost of £3,800. The project prioritises disadvantaged young people – people who do not already engage with York Theatre Royal, sometimes due to social, cultural or financial barriers.

Access All Areas is a free provision that is referral only and transport costs can be supported. All children are from York and surrounding areas. There are currently 15 children attending the weekly group. The project helps the young people progress into mainstream youth theatre, community shows like Everything Is Possible: The York Suffragettes and the annual TakeOver festival, which then allows new members to join the small supported group. The project has previously been funded by the Ed De Nunzio Charitable Trust.

The BK Foundation Fund will also support a £12,000 transport project around the production of Driving Miss Daisy in June. This will involve providing transport to and from the theatre through charities supporting older people in York.

How to donate: You can donate to the Berwick Kaler Foundation through the box office, at contactless donation points in the theatre, online @yorktheatreroyal.co.uk and by contacting the Development Team on 01904 715460 / [email protected]

York Citizens’ Theatre Trust is a registered charity.

British Female Circus Company, Mimbre,
Perform at Dior Paris Fashion Show

Monday 21st January 2019: MIMBRE, the East-London based all-women acrobatic theatre company, was invited by Maria Grazia Chiuri, Creative Director of the Dior women’s collections, to participate in the spring-summer 2019 haute couture show at Paris Fashion Week. 18 female acrobats took to the runway for the specially commissioned and choreographed performance for Christian Dior’s Spring Summer 2019 (SS19) show at [the Musée Rodin].

Maria Grazia Chiuri wished to give form to the inspirations that shaped the creation of this haute couture collection in constant pursuit of the surprising poetry that springs from trust and the way bodies interact, with a performance by Mimbre developed especially for the occasion. A series of human pyramids and powerful monochromatic shapes highlight the imagination that inhabits the pieces in a collection celebrating the circus and its links with costume, fashion and art. The traditional circus tent setting was designed by Shona Heath and Bureau Betak

This follows the fashion house’s successful partnership with choreographer Sharon Eyal last year. On Monday, they once again sought to use performing art forms to not only inspire their new collection, but to help present it on the runway.

Mimbre co-artistic directors Lina Johansson and Silvia Fratelli choreographed and performed respectively, with assistant choreography by Mélissa Colello, and were joined by 17 other female acrobats and acro-balance specialists from across the world to create this memorable piece.

Lina Johansson, Mimbre Artistic Director, said, I am incredibly proud to have worked on such an exciting collaboration. Dior Creative Director, Maria Grazia Chiuri is very clear in her belief of showcasing female empowerment through fashion, and it is a pleasure to have been a part of that. It has been an exhilarating journey to create an all-female performance on such a large scale and I am honoured to work with a team of such talented performers.

The performance took inspiration from the female circus performers of the past, as well as the environment of the Musée Rodin where it was presented, using the sculptor’s work to inform the acrobatic performance.

Mimbre have just finished their nationwide tour of The Exploded Circus, and are starting to create a new touring production for this year, Three. For more information, please visit www.mimbre.co.uk.

Raven Capital Management Acquires Majority Stake in David Ian Productions via New Joint Venture

David Ian Productions Limited (“David Ian Productions” or the “Company”), a leading producer, promoter, and tour operator of high-profile licensed musicals that are staged in theatrical markets around the world, has sold a majority stake in the Company to a newly-formed joint venture (the “JV”) controlled by Raven Capital Management LLC (“Raven”).

Founded in 2006 by David Ian, the Company produces and co-produces some of the world’s biggest hit musicals including Annie, The Bodyguard, Cats, Evita, Chicago, Grease and The Sound of Music in numerous international markets including the United Kingdom, China, the United States, South Africa, Japan, Australia, the Middle East, Asia and New Zealand.

Prior to founding David Ian Productions, David Ian served as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the global theatrical division of Live Nation, having joined the group when it was part of Clear Channel Entertainment.  At Live Nation, he was responsible for Broadway Across America, which produced and toured first class Broadway shows in more than 40 markets in the United States and Canada.  Simultaneously, Ian served as CEO of the U.K. division, which included over 25 theatres in London’s West End and throughout the U.K. regions.

David Ian commented on the transaction, “I could not be more enthusiastic about my new partnership with Raven and its principals.  They share my vision about the exciting opportunity to expand the footprint of musical theatre worldwide over the next decade.”

The investment is a platform acquisition, positioned for strong growth, in the production of first-class theatrical content with a highly successful track record in global touring. Raven, which recently acquired the Open Road Films library, views the theatrical space as an additional and lasting hallmark of its entertainment and media investment thesis. Through the JV, Raven will continue to invest in theatrical content and international expansion.  

Jeremy Tucker, Co-Founder and Principal of Raven commented, “The live theatrical sector has been enjoying a renaissance over the past several years, which we believe has its greatest trajectory still ahead.  We are providing meaningful capital to David Ian Productions for both organic growth and acquisitions across the industry.”

The Company enjoys long-term IP, distribution and venue relationships including Really Useful Group, Cameron Mackintosh Ltd, Stage Entertainment, Nederlander, NAMCO, Ambassador Theatre Group, Shanghai Media Group and Rodgers & Hammerstein amongst others.  Since 2015, David Ian Productions has successfully expanded its pipeline and launched tours of world-class shows such asThe Sound of Music, Cats, Chicago, Grease and The Bodyguard into dozens of international markets and locations, many of which had rarely been previously visited by U.K. and U.S. theatre companies.

Along with regular co-producing partner Michael Harrison, the Company has also had significant success developing its own content, such as the smash hit The Bodyguard, based on Lawrence Kasdan’s 1992 Oscar-nominated Warner Bros. film.  David Ian Productions is currently achieving great success as a Co-Producer and General Manager of the Channing Tatum production Magic Mike Live at London’s Hippodrome Casino, based on the successful films Magic Mike and Magic Mike XXL.

Raven has indicated its JV formation and acquisition will allow it to invest in additional touring rights for new and established musicals, and to acquire larger libraries of content.  Raven will also consider the formation of new production and touring offices in certain international territories for the support of David Ian Productions and shows created and presented by third parties.  With this new platform, the JV also intends to expand into supplementary formats for non-traditional IP and family entertainment, partnering with film studios and music studios to develop and own IP, and to engage in further accretive merger and acquisition opportunities.

“David Ian has built a platform like no other, with a demonstrated track record for quality and local knowledge and relationships in established and emerging markets around the world.  With the expanded resources that Raven provides, David Ian Productions is uniquely positioned to meet the demands of a growing global audience for outstanding live entertainment content”, commented Dan Miller, a management partner of the JV who introduced the David Ian Productions opportunity and is guiding Raven’s expansion into the live entertainment arena.

Under the JV’s new ownership, David Ian will remain in his position as CEO of the Company and continue to be based out of the Company’s headquarters in London, located in the historic district of Covent Garden.

Lisbeth R. Barron, Chairman & CEO and her team at Barron International Group, LLC, acted as the exclusive financial advisor to David Ian Productions for the transaction. U.K.-based Clintons served as the legal counsel to the Company.  The London office of Latham & Watkins served as the legal counsel to Raven and the JV.  Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

About David Ian Productions Limited

David Ian Productions Limited was founded in 2006 and is based in London’s Covent Garden. The Company offers a full range of services to the theatrical industry, including general management, production of showcases and workshops, production accounting, project research, feasibility studies, budgeting and financial planning, preparation of investment material, personnel recruitment and management of all of the logistics required in the preparation and maintenance of major theatrical productions, including the overseeing and management of ticketing, marketing, and press operations. 

About Raven Capital Management LLC
Based in New York with offices in Los Angeles, Raven is a private equity management firm that specializes in asset-based equity purchases and loans.  Raven directly originates, underwrites, and actively manages its investments primarily in the following asset classes: intellectual property and receivables, specialty finance, commercial real estate, transportation, and infrastructure assets, as well as other esoteric assets.  Other media assets in Raven’s investment portfolios and related to David Ian Productions include Open Road Films (acquired in 2018) and Exclusive Media (acquired in 2015).

About Barron International Group, LLC

Barron International Group, LLC is a privately-owned investment banking firm with a globally-focused client base.  The firm’s founder, Lisbeth R. Barron, has more than 30 years of experience, having spearheaded in excess of $65 billion in ground-breaking strategic advisory and capital-raising transactions throughout her career in the Media, Entertainment, Leisure, Hospitality, and Branded Consumer Products industries.

STARS OF LES MISERABLES

THE BARRICADE BOYS

LIVE IN CONCERT

AT THE GRAND OPERA HOUSE YORK

SATURDAY 4 MAY 2019

   Starring Malton actor Scott Garnham

★★★★★ “These guys are fantastic… DON’T miss this show!” – Alfie Boe

★★★★★ “Do you hear the people sing? Yes! With dashing good looks, incredible voices and outstanding musical magic!” – Elaine Paige, BBC Radio 2

Scott Garnham was born in Malton, North Yorkshire and attended Norton Community Primary School and later Norton College. Garnham began acting at the age of 7 attending classes at Kirkham Henry Performing Arts, based in Malton, and later performing with many local amateur theatre groups.

At the age of twelve Garnham appeared in the original cast of Stiles and Drewe’s Honk! The Ugly Duckling, directed by Julia McKenzie, at the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough.  He made his west end debut in Eurovision Song Contest spoof Eurobeat earning positive critical responses, including a Daily Express review, declaring “a stand-out performance from Scott Garnham.” Garnham played Irish entrant Ronan Corr in a hilarious performance, completed by an all-white outfit and over-zealous use of dry ice.

Following Eurobeat, Garnham landed the role of Feuilly in the West End production of Les Misérables while also understudying the roles of Enjolras and Marius, a job which won him the accolade of Understudy of the Year 2011. The performance also earned him a spot in the Les Misérables: 25th Anniversary Concert alongside Matt Lucas, Alfie Boe and Nick Jonas.

The Barricade Boys were founded in 2016 by Scott Garnham (Nativity! The Musical, Billy Elliot The Musical, Made in Dagenham, Les Misérables) and Simon Schofield (title role in Oliver! London Palladium, Joseph and The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, The Sound of Music, Doctor Doolitle, Les Misérables).

The Show:

Direct from London’s West End and Broadway, The Barricade Boys are back on the road with their sensational and critically acclaimed national tour and will play one night only in York at the Grand Opera House on Saturday 4 May.

Featuring fabulous harmonies, incredible vocals, dashing good looks and stacks of charm, The Barricade Boys showcase the UK’s finest male voices from the world’s longest running musical – Les Misérables.

The Barricade Boys not only perform the world’s greatest show tunes, but they also celebrate music from some of the most iconic names in the music industry, from powerful ballads and beautiful operatic arias to some of the best pop, rock and swing numbers of all time.

After sell-out performances in London’s West End, an appearance on Broadway and a host of international dates, this exceptional group are once again taking their spectacular live show around the country, as well as across the pond to the USA (in April).

The Barricade Boys have played nearly every major role in musical theatre from The Phantom of The Opera, Wicked and Billy Elliot to Jersey Boys, The Sound Of Music and of course Les Misérables. As seen on ITV’s ‘This Morning’ and ‘The Paul O’Grady Show’, The Barricade Boyshave rightfully secured their place as the world’s leading musical theatre super group.

Tickets from £13

Box Office: 0844 871 3024

Online: www.atgtickets.com/york

Mark Gatiss announced for Dark Sublime at Trafalgar Studios
Trafalgar Studios, 14 Whitehall, London SW1A 2DY
Tuesday 25th June – Saturday 3rd August 2019

Stage and screen star Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, BBC1; Doctor Who, BBC1; The Madness of George III, Nottingham Playhouse; The League of Gentlemen, BBC Two and UK tour) will be lending his voice to
the part of Kosley, a hysterical talking computer, in the world premiere of Dark Sublime. Gatiss joins the previously announced Martina Sirtis (Star Trek: The Next Generation) who will be making her West End debut.

Gatiss comments, I’m delighted to be a small part of Michael Dennis’ delightful, funny and touching play. All lovers of telefantasy and beyond will have their ribs tickled, their minds probed and their spurious morality catheterised (or something). Puny humans, prepare yourselves for the Dark Sublime!

Directed by Andrew Keates (As Is and Dessa Rose – Trafalgar Studios), Dark Sublime explores the complexities of relationships, especially in the LGBTQ community, and the contrast in lived experiences across generations. This thrilling debut play by Michael Dennis is a theatrical love-letter to British sci-fi television which examines the feeling of belonging that comes with finding your place among the outcasts.

Further casting will be announced in April 2019.

Sonia Friedman Productions and Fox Stage Productions present

ALL ABOUT EVE 
by Joseph L Mankiewicz

Adapted and directed  for the stage by Ivo van Hove

• All About Eve to be broadcast live from the Noël Coward Theatre to cinemas across the UK and internationally on 11th April 2019 with National Theatre Live 
   
• Starring Gillian Anderson and Lily James and directed by Ivo van Hove, All About Eve will be shown in over 2,500 cinemas 
   
• All About Eve begins previews in the West End on 2nd February. Best availability from late March 2019

Sonia Friedman Productions and Fox Stage Productions have today announced a live cinema broadcast for All About Eve. The world premiere of Ivo van Hove’s highly anticipated stage adaptation of the 1950 Twentieth Century Fox film and the play “The Wisdom of Eve” by Mary Orr will be broadcast on 11th April 2019 by NT Live. NT Live screens to 2,500 venues across 65 countries including 700 cinemas in the UK.

With just under two weeks until previews commence at the Noël Coward Theatre, Emmy Award-winning Gillian Anderson and Lily James lead the cast including Monica Dolan, Ian Drysdale, Tsion Habte, Jessie Mei Li, Julian Ovenden, Sheila Reid, Rhashan Stone, Stanley Townsend and Philip Voyzey. 

Ivo van Hove’s direction will be accompanied by set and lighting design from Jan Versweyveld,costume design by An D’Huys and music from double Mercury Prize-winner PJ Harvey,alongside Tom Gibbons’ sound design. Casting is by Julia Horan CDG.

Margo Channing. Legend. True star of the theatre. The spotlight is hers, always has been. But now there’s Eve. Her biggest fan. Young, beautiful Eve. The golden girl, the girl next door. But you know all about Eve…don’t you…?

 Ivo van Hove directs Gillian Anderson and Lily James in his new adaptation of All About Eve, a razor-sharp, unsettling exposé of the eternal obsession at the heart of show-business. Lifting the curtain on a world of jealousy and ambition, this new production, from one of the world’s most innovative theatre directors, asks why our fascination with celebrity, youth and identity never seems to get old.

Throughout the run of All About Eve, over 20,000 tickets will be offered at £25 or under. Day Seats will be available each day from 10am at the Box Office, priced at £25. Audiences can also access seats through the Today Tix mobile and online lottery at the same price.

Since launching in 2009, National Theatre Live broadcasts have been seen by an audience of over 8 million people at 2,500 venues in 65 countries. The first season began in June 2009 with the acclaimed production of Phédre starring Oscar winner Helen Mirren. Recent broadcasts includeJulius Caesar with David Morrissey and Ben Wishaw, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof with Sienna Miller, Follies with Imelda Staunton, Yerma with Billie Piper, Angels in America with Andrew Garfield and Russell Tovey, Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? with Imelda Staunton and Conleth Hill, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead with Daniel Radcliffe and Hedda Gabler with Ruth Wilson. Sky Arts is the UK sponsor for National Theatre Live.

Participating cinemas can be found here: http://ntlive.nationaltheatre.org.uk

2018 Box Office figures released by Society of London Theatre and UK Theatre

• Data jointly released for West End and rest of the UK for the first time
• Resilience of UK’s theatre industry revealed
• Strong audience and ticket sales figures from SOLT and UK Theatre members including several new records

Society of London Theatre (SOLT) and UK Theatre have released data for ticket sales across their member venues in 2018. The figures reveal a combined audience of over 34m and ticket revenue of nearly £1.28bn, from a total of 62,945 performances over the course of the year in the West End and across the UK.

London’s West End theatres drew in audiences totaling over 15.5m last year, resulting in box office revenue of over £765m – both record figures, generating over £127m in VAT for the Treasury. The year saw an increase in the number of performances to 18,708, up 2.8% from 2017. Hit shows including Hamilton had an impact on overall ticket sales in a very strong year for musicals, while plays experienced a dip in attendances and revenue.

Audiences for theatre across the rest of the country topped 18.8m, with a box office of over £509m. Theatres reported a slight increase in attendances, and also number of performances (44,237, up 0.2% from 2017), as well as a rise in income and average ticket price. This was largely due to increased yield at the biggest presenting houses, which bounced back after a small dip in 2017. Smaller producing theatres saw the largest dip in attendance and revenue, falling back in line with previous years after an unusually strong 2017.

2018 SOLT Highlights:

• Attendances of 15,548,154 (up 3.0% compared to 2017)
• Gross revenue of £765,800,051, (up 8.6% compared to 2017)
• Average ticket price paid £49.25 (up 5.5% compared to 2017)
• 77.5% of available seats filled
• 18,708 performances

2018 UK Theatre Highlights:

• Attendances of 18,806,659 (up 0.3% compared to 2017)
• Gross revenue of £509,567,967 (up 8.4% compared to 2017)
• Average ticket price paid £27.10 (up 8.0% compared to 2017)
• 61% of available seats filled
• 44,237 performances

Kenny Wax, President of SOLT, said:

‘As these figures show, London’s world-leading theatre industry is attracting larger audiences than ever after another record year. Increasingly, people seem to want to invest in high quality cultural experiences, and the West End is benefiting from this trend. We must be cautious heading into 2019, however, as the combined effects of some theatres going dark for renovations, major musicals closing and an uncertain political climate might have an impact in the coming months.’

Fiona Allan, President of UK Theatre, said:

‘2018 was generally a good year for the UK’s theatre sector, which proved robust in a difficult economic climate. London’s West End enjoys a symbiotic relationship with the rest of London and across the nations, with fantastic new writing and revivals originating all over the country and ending up in West End theatres, and West End productions touring the UK.’