We’ve fallen back in love with the musical

DESPITE the lure of 3D film and sprawling multiplex cinemas, it seems Britain has rekindled its love affair with the musical.

More tickets were sold in the West End in 2013 than in any previous year, largely thanks to the roaring success of popular musicals.

The Lion King has continued its triumph, taking around £600,000 a week at the box office, while newly opened Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, directed by Hollywood name Sam Mendes, proved a golden ticket, taking £450,000 a week.

Both Wicked and We Will Rock You made an estimated £500,000 in sales each week, while Book of Mormon and Matilda were not far behind.

Experts said tourism in the wake of the London 2012 Olympic Games also played a part in the rush.

Almost 14.6million people saw a show in the capital last year – and paid some £585million, 11 per cent more than in 2012, according to the figures from the Society of London Theatre.

That beats a previous peak of 14.3million tickets sold in 2009, and marks the tenth yearly revenue rise in a row. And sales have more than doubled since 2000, when they hit £287million, the figures for musicals, plays, opera and dance at 52 theatres reveal.

Roald Dahl’s Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, twice broke West End records for weekly sales.

Since opening in June it has taken £30million at the box office and has been seen by 500,000 people.

Disney’s big budget The Lion King, in its 15th year, was seen by 822,000 people and took £42million, the best annual sales in West End history.

And in September, advance sales for forthcoming musical Miss Saigon took a record £4.4million in one day. Musical audiences grew 3 per cent, while opera, dance and performance shows saw a 12 per cent increase.

The average ticket price rose from £37.86 in 2012 to £40.14 last year.

Alistair Smith, of The Stage magazine, said: ‘The results show that audiences are prepared to pay for quality theatre. Increased tourism post-Olympics also has an impact.’

Mark Rubinstein, of the Society of London Theatre, said it was a tribute to the quality of London’s stage.