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THEATRELAND STARTS SHUTTING DOWN
According to a tweet from @WestEndProducer, performances were lost last night for these shows:

Also affected and not mentioned in this tweet: FORDE MAJEURE at the Donmar Warehouse; and Get Up! Stand Up!

As actor Evelyn Hoskins tweeted yesterday,

I replied:

I realize sensitivities and passions are running high right now, but I seem to have hit a nerve, with producer James Seabright replying:

As a critic and commentator, it is not my job to be liked. But the pity of this spat is that I’ve long admired Seabright; he was responsible for bringing one of my favourite solo musicals ever, THE LION, to London from New York, and I’ll be forever grateful to him for introducing me to the immense talent of Benjamin Scheuer.
But I can’t stand by, either, and be told that the West End has done all it can.
That is palpably untrue. And now we are living with the consequences..

And Cameron Mackintosh is, predictably, blaming the government’s “rhetoric and pronouncements” for the sudden drop in footfall in the West End and its impact on advance bookings. As Dominic Cavendish tweeted today: 

Maybe, though, people are just being sensible — and following WFH advice?

TODAY’S THEATRE BIRTHDAYS (DEC 16):
Theatre birthdays (DEC 16): Benny Andersson, singer/songwriter Abba, 75; Liv Ullman, 83 (pic; in GHOSTS on Broadway in 1982, with a very young Kevin Spacey)

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]SEE YOU TOMORROW
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