Tourism boom helps London theatres record best ever year

LONDON theatres have enjoyed their most successful year since records began, as a “Brexit effect” tourist boom brought overseas visitors flocking to the capital.

Audience figures published by the Society of London Theatre (SOLT) showed more than 15 million theatre tickets were sold in 2017: the highest figure since records began more than 30 years ago.

Productions including Harry Potter And The Cursed Child, Angels in America, Ink, Hamlet and Hamilton, helped boost box office revenues to £705 million, up nine per cent, as audiences rose five per cent to 15,094,573.

The record year was driven by a strong performance in the first two quarters, despite the lowest number of new productions since 2011.

The successful first half of the year matched figures for the tourist industry, when figures from the Office for National Statistics showed a 25 per cent rise in visitors from the United States.

The travel figures were attributed to the “Brexit effect”, which saw a drop in the pound make the UK economically attractive to overseas visitors.

A report by SOLT released yesterday showed that 8,755,590 people went to a musical in 2017, up 8 per cent on the year before, pulling in £436,611,108.

Some 4,468,105 went to a play, up 7 per cent year on year, for a revenue of £176,436,089.

There were 258 new productions in 2017, a fall from 276 from 2016.

Other types of theatre, including opera and dance, drew 1,881,878 attendees, a fall of 7 per cent on the year before but, thanks to ticket prices, an increased revenue of £91,959,731. The reduction has been attributed to the closure of part of the Royal Opera House for refurbishment.

Julian Bird, chief executive of SOLT, said overseas tourism had been “very strong” in first half of 2017, with theatres reaping the benefits. He praised the “very strong mix” of productions, with an emphasis on new writing.

Kenny Wax, president of SOLT, added: “The box office figures are a testament to the creative strength of London theatre and cements the city’s status as the world’s theatre capital.”