Great news! Theatre is thriving, or at least it’s thriving in the West End. This week, super producer Cameron Mackintosh said two of his monster hits, Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera, played to 100 per cent capacity “and broke every box office record in their history”.
It is a story that is playing out across a lot of theatreland. One producer told me that London “is doing really well”. Big brand shows like Phantom and The Lion King, or those with a big star like The Pillowman with Lily Allen, or based on a successful book like Hamnet — which hasn’t even opened in London but has already extended — are all selling well. Audiences are flocking back.
