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The West End NowDateline: 6th February, 2005The news that 2004 was a record year for West End theatre (which includes the National and the Young Vic, as well as theatres on the periphery such as the Almeida) is most welcome. The bottom line figures are simple: a 3% increase in attendances (still not quite the record of 2002 when they were 125,000 higher) but definitely record ticket income. The chief executive of SOLT, Richard Pulford, was quick to point out that they give the lie to "speculative press stories about declining audiences that appeared during the year". They also, he pointed out, proved that the straight play is not in decline, another accusation levelled at the West End, with a total audience of around three million. But the press were not the only ones who have been making gloomy prognostications about the West End. Theatre owners - Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cameron Mackintosh conspicuous amongst them - have pointed to decaying theatres, which they say need public subsidy to be refurbished, and a general air of sleaze and, indeed, dirtiness. Then there have been accusations that the West End has dumbed down in recent years, that it has become a haven for second rate musicals, often based on the back-catalogues of pop groups, and plays which depend on US TV and film actors to attract audiences. And then, of course, there is the oft-repeated criticism that West End ticket prices are far too high, making it impossible for any but the well-off to be regular theatregoers. All of these criticisms have some truth in them but they do tend to overstate their case. Take the overpriced ticket complaint, for example: it is true that seat prices of over (sometimes well over) £50 are not uncommon, but it is also true that it is possible, thanks to the Travelex season, to see shows in good seats in the National's Olivier Theatre for £10 and prices at the Donmar can be as low as £7.50. Decent prices are also available even for the top musicals - assuming you can get a ticket in the first place! £17.50 for The Woman in White are available - and good seats are often available from the two TKTS Booths for almost half price. On the day this was written, it was possible to get a £45 seat for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang for £25. And yes, there are plays in the West End which rely on little more than a star name to sell them, but then there are those like Michael Grandage's Sheffield Theatres production of Don Carlos with Derek Jacobi, and Festen, which is winning awards hand over fist, which are of the highest quality. And certainly the presence of a top US star does not necessarily mean a rubbish production: take Whose Life Is It Anyway?, for example, which stars Kim Cattrall. All of these are in our Top 5 or Alternative Top 5. As for decaying theatres, it is true that, as happened to a friend of mine recently, you can find yourself in a seat whose stuffing is held in with gaffer tape, but that could be true of any theatre in the country - and it only lasts until they take the seat out of commission or the maintenance crew repair it. What is more likely to be the case is that facilities backstage may well be not what we expect nowadays and, more worryingly, not 100% compliant with health and safety regulations. Certainly in comparison with modern theatres like, for example, the West Yorkshire Playhouse and, indeed, the National, many (but not all) West End theatres have fallen well behind. I think it is fair to say that subsidised theatres are generally more modern in their equipment and more health and safety compliant than their commercial sisters, but that is because funding bodies and local authorities, who are usually stakeholders of some kind, insist upon it. And before anyone protests, I know this is not an invariable rule! It is also true that the West End is dirty and often sleazy, but I suspect you notice it more if you work there than if you are just visiting. In any case, the somewhat sleazy atmosphere, the hustle and bustle, the crowds give the place an atmosphere, at least to the tourist - and of course it is the tourist which keeps the West End going. Much as I love what the National Theatre does, its brutalist exterior architecture and rather cold and functional interior do not create the frisson of the theatres in the West End itself. And I suspect I would feel less safe wandering along the South Bank embankment at two in the morning than walking down Shaftesbury Avenue. Not that I ever do either: I'm usually tucked up in my hotel bed by then!
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