The Society of London Theatre (SOLT), a not-for-profit organisation representing the London theatre industry, have released an updated statement on the closure of the West End for theatre audiences. The statement in full reads:
“London’s West End looks forward to welcoming audiences back into theatres as soon as performances can safely resume.
To give our customers some clarity, we have been cancelling performances across the West End on a rolling basis, in line with the latest advice from the Government.
We are now extending those cancellations until Sunday 28 June.
This does not mean theatres will reopen on 29 June; if further cancellations are necessary, they will continue to be announced on a rolling basis. Different theatres and productions are likely to reopen at different times.
Ticketholders for affected performances do not need to do anything. They will be contacted by the organisation from which they bought their tickets to arrange a refund, credit note or exchange for a later date.
We are grateful to customers for the patience they are showing during this challenging time for our industry. With 300,000 people visiting West End theatres in a normal week, it’s a major undertaking to process refunds, exchanges and credit notes, particularly when many staff are working remotely. Please rest assured that we are all working as quickly as we can and we appreciate the on-going support of our audiences.”
Many productions which were due to open have now been cancelled, while others such as Sister Act The Musical and Sunday in the Park With George have been postponed and rescheduled for 2021.
During this time, many theatres and producers are releasing previous recording of productions which audiences can watch for free, although donations to the industry are encouraged and welcome.
