For some it’s an indispensable part of their night at the theatre, a chance to top up a glass of wine, quickly appraise the plot and, crucially, to pop to the loo. To others it’s an interruption that impedes the drama and makes the eventual train home an even later.
Now it appears the contentious nature of the theatre interval is giving producers their own pause for thought.
With more and more shows being staged across London without breaks – from Slave Play at the Noël Coward to The Years at the Almeida – experts say changing audience habits and a desire for fully immersive theatre are behind the shift.
“It’s a surprising development given that revenue from bar sales is such a vital source of income for most theatres,” said James Rowson, a lecturer in theatre and cultural policy at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. “Especially when so many theatre buildings are currently under increasing financial pressures as a result of funding cuts and the cost of living crisis.”
Rowson said the shift could be a hangover from the pandemic, when many people fell out of the habit of attending the theatre. “It could well be that by staging productions without intervals and cutting running times, theatres are attempting to win back hesitant members of the public and establish a new generation of theatregoers.”
This, he added, could “re-establish theatre in the night-time ecology in a more flexible way by allowing theatregoers to build watching a show into a night out with other activities, or simply make it home from a show earlier”.
Over the past four years, much has been written about whether the era of intervals is over. Writing in the Stage, Lyn Gardner called intervals an “outmoded, unnecessary theatre convention”.
After lockdown, the Globe took a more relaxed approach to intervals. Its artistic director, Michelle Terry, said Shakespeare’s plays were “never written with intervals, so we won’t play them with intervals”.
“The no-interval show definitely seemed to be born out of necessity over the pandemic, with its smaller casts and shorter running time,” Guardian theatre critic Arifa Akbar said.
“And to my mind it is still partly an insurance policy against the pandemic effect – Covid hasn’t stopped having a disruptive effect on the industry, as we saw in the number of shows hit by illness again this summer.
“But it has become its own art form too. There is a fast and furious energy to these shows that will definitely appeal to a younger generation. There are also some shows, such as The Years, where an interval would feel like an interruption to their pace and intensity.”
Theatre producer Kenny Wax, who has two musicals playing in London without intervals – Six (Vaudeville Theatre) and Fantastically Great Women Who Changed the World (The Other Palace) – said his decision was an artistic one.
“In the case of both of those productions, which have a running time around the 80-85-minute mark, it would slow down the momentum of the journey and there isn’t really a natural place for a break,” he said.
Wax explained how each decision was also based on the venue. For example, The Play That Goes Wrong by the Mischief Theatre Company was originally written as a one-act play that ran at Trafalgar Studio 2.
But to make the play “commercial”, he decided to book a UK tour of regional venues. “It’s easier to sell a production into those regional theatres if the shows have an interval because they rely on bar sales as a valuable source of income.
“Some venues charge the producer a ‘no-interval financial penalty’ for not having an interval. They regard it as an income to balance up the loss in bar sales.”
Only the strongest titles, such as Six and Stephen Daldry’s multi-award-winning NT production of An Inspector Calls, have the bargaining power to cut a deal, Wax said – which goes some way to explaining why a lot of shows without intervals seem to feature big name stars such as Kit Harington or Jodie Comer.
“If the venue needs the show more than the show needs a particular venue, the producer has the upper hand and can usually get the penalty clause struck out.”
Max Webster, who is directing Macbeth, starring David Tennant, at the Harold Pinter theatre, said he chose to skip the interval to create an experience “that immerses an audience into a world”. During the play, audience members are also made to wear headphones.
“I felt that not letting them come up for air would be a good way to make an intense and exciting experience,” Webster said.
But anecdotally, theatregoers across the capital have complained about attending shows where their viewing experience has been disrupted by other people’s constant trips to the bathroom.
Webster acknowledged the benefits of intervals. But ultimately, he believed the decision depended on the play. “What I like is, there’s an increasing flexibility of us being allowed to try and find the best shape of an evening that suits the story we’re trying to tell,” he said.
Mark Hutchings, author of Approaching the Interval in Early Modern Theatre, said historically, intervals provided the opportunity to put on entertainment such as music and dancing.
In the “Shakespearean” period, he added, the structure of plays was dictated by light. Outdoor plays were sunlit and therefore ran without interruption. But indoors, candles were needed, and breaks were necessary to mend and snuff them.
Though Hutchings said some critics might think intervals are a “pain in the neck” or that they “zap the buzz”, he prefers them because they provide an opportunity to discuss the play with fellow audience members or stretch your legs.
“The interval is always much more than a gap,” he said. “A cynic would say you can even walk out.”
Five shows with no intervals
A Chorus Line – at Sadler Wells theatre until 25 August
Directed by Nikolai Foster, A Chorus Line uses real-life testimonies from performers to tell the tale of seventeen hopefuls auditioning for a new Broadway musical in 1975, where only eight will make the cut.
Macbeth – at Harold Pinter theatre until 14 December
David Tennant and Cush Jumbo lead this immersive production of Shakespeare’s Scottish play directed by Max Webster. The audience are brought intimately close to the feverish action, which lasts under two hours, through the use of 3D headphones magnifying every whisper of dialogue.
Slave Play – at Noël Coward theatre until 1 September
This Tony-nominated drama, directed by Robert O’Hara, follows the legacy of historical racial violence in three couples’ sexual dynamics.
Six – at Vaudeville theatre
The hit West End musical, loved by fans worldwide, is a modern retelling of the lives of Henry VIII’s six wives in the form of a singing competition.
Shifters – at Duke of York’s theatre until 12 October
Follows the story of two childhood lovers who are brought together eight years after splitting up. Written by Benedict Lombe, who won the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize in 2022 for her debut monologue, Lava, this is a duologue, told from two perspectives.
