The Society of London Theatre have announced yet again record sales in the West End for the ninth year running, despite huge competition last year from the Olympics and the Queen’s diamond Jubilee.
New shows in London such as Top Hat and The Bodyguard helped boost London’s theatre attendances in 2012, although overall tickets sold for musicals were down 3% year-on-year, whilst dramas and plays had an exceptionally strong year with ticket sales up 9% year-on-year.
The producers of the West End show Let It Be, featuring live performances of the music of the Beatles, were delighted to announce that the show in London had recouped its initial £1.6 million capital costs after just 18 weeks at The Prince of Wales theatre. The show mow transfers to the Savoy theatre in in February.
The rise in ticket sales for serious drama was in part due to the start of the Michael Grandage season at the Noel Coward theatre and the continued popularity of West End transfers such as One Man, Two Guvnors at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and War Horse at the New London theatre, which continues to sell out. The Woman in Black at the Fortune theatre saw a surge in popularity after the release of the film adaptation starring Harry Potter star, Daniel Radcliffe.
The Shakespeare’s Globe productions of Richard III and Twelfth Night at the Apollo Theatre, both starring Mark Rylance, were hugely popular with tickets in hot demand.
And with the news of the transfer of Private Lives to the West End after a sell-out run at the Chichester theatre, we can perhaps expect plays and comedies to be in continued demand in 2013. Noel Coward’s comedy stars Toby Stephens and Anna Chancellor as divorcees who rekindle old passions while honeymooning with their new spouses. It runs at the Gielgud Theatre from the 22nd June until the 21st September.
LONDON THEATRE BOX OFFICE
- Attendances: 13,992,773 (2012) 13,915,185 (2011)
- Gross box office revenue: £529,787,692 (2012) £528,375,874 (2011)
- Average number of theatres open: 45 (2012) 45 (2011)
- Number of performances: 18,448 (2012) 18,061 (2011)
- New productions: 305 (2012) 256 (2011)
- Average ticket price: £37.86 (2012) £37.97 (2011)
Source: The Society of London Theatre
There had been much trepidation from theatre producers and venues alike with 2012 being such a congested year for international events, such as the Euro Football championships in June, followed by the Queen’s jubilee and of course the London Olympics, with no-one able to safely predict audience attendances.
Ticket sales rose slightly last year despite competition from the Olympics, according to figures released by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) at the Royal Opera House on Tuesday.
Overall sales increased by 0.27% to £529.7m, with audiences up 0.56% to 13.99 million on 2011’s totals.
Solt president Mark Rubinstein said he was “delighted” there had been growth in sales for the ninth year running.
Rubinstein admitted “The Olympics did take a bite out of the business. There were messages about travel and transport that the society worked very hard to correct and made sure people felt comfortable about coming into the West End. At a time when we are hearing about a hard economic climate and retail names falling, for the society to be able to announce this is an astounding achievement.”
Although actual ticket sales and attendances dropped during the Olympic fortnight, SOLT attributed the overall growth in both sales and attendances due to “a very strong first half of the year and good autumn sales”.
SOLT also reported that advance ticket sales for shows in London have grown considerably in the last three months of 2012, indicating a growing audience confidence in the current productions and anticipation for the new shows that are due to open in 2013. New shows in London already announced include West End productions of Broadway hits The Book of Mormon and Once and a brand new stage adaptation of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory the musical. Which if Charlie & the Chocolate Factory receives as much success as Roald Dahl’s other musical adaptation, Matilda, then we can expect bumper ticket sales again in 2013. At the 2012 Laurence Olivier Awards, Matilda the Musical set a new record by scooping a total of seven trophies.
The SOLT figures are based on the 52 major theatres in London, including both commercial and grant-aided venues.
SOLT also announced that this year’s Olivier Awards will be televised on a mainstream TV channel for the first time in a decade. The highlights of the award ceremony from the Royal Opera House will be shown on the same night on ITV on the 28th April. Legally Blonde actress and Olivier award-winner, Sheridan Smith, will co-host the event.
The Olivier awards had previously been screened on BBC 2 up to 2003. Last year the awards could be seen on the BBC’s red button service.
The award nominations will be broadcast live on BBC Radio 2 at 11.30 a.m. on 26th March.
