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Articles
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Musicals v Plays in the West EndDateline: 28th July, 2006According to a survey conducted by Whatsonstage.com, 42% of West End theatregoers think that there is no such thing as too many musicals, 71% are happy with the number of musicals showing in Theatreland, 78% intend to see between three and five of the musicals which are due to reach the West End shortly, and 9% will see them all. There are currently twenty musicals running in the West End, of these, seven are really long runners and six others have been running for more than a year, with a further twelve due to arrive shortly. In contrast there are eleven plays, including four comedies. If we add in off-West End theatres - the National, the Globe, the Barbican, the Royal Court, the Open Air, the Almeida, the Old and Young Vics (both currently dark) - the picture changes considerably, and then adding in the London fringe theatres - such as the Arcola, the Finborough, the Bush and many more - the change is dramatic. Among the West End plays are two which have been running for years: The Woman in Black and, of course, The Mousetrap, and two (Jane Eyre and The Canterbury Tales) which are touring productions having a West End outing. This is different from productions such as See How They Run which are designed to have had a pre-West End tour before settling "up west". Other London productions, taking into account the National etc. and the fringe (incidentally, many of the fringe theatres are currently dark), include one musical, four children's shows and 26 plays, making the full total of current London shows 37 plays, four children's productions and 21 musicals. Thus the West End actually gives a very skewed and, indeed, misleading picture of London theatre. And the reason for this, of course, is that the West End relies upon tourists (as do some of the off-West End theatres to perhaps a lesser extent) and tourists - generally: not all of them! - want to be entertained in an undemanding way and to see shows which have very high production values, which have high-profile names in their casts, and have been seen and enjoyed by many others. Some follow a particular interest: I have a friend, a Queen fan, who sees We Will Rock You every time she goes to London and is hoping it will tour so that she can see it again. In spite of the hype, the West End does not present a true picture of the state of London and certainly not of British theatre. Plays generally do not attract the same kind of audience as musicals, nor do they (with a few exceptions) run as long, but they still make up the majority of productions in Britain. The West End, to be honest, is more a barometer of the tourist industry than of the theatre!
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