Tough Times on the West End : War Jitters Hitting London Ticket Sales

The man at the box office for “Miss Saigon” was very helpful. “We have no tickets for tonight right now,” he explained. “But you might try later today. Because we are getting a lot of returns. . . .”

These are strange times in London’s theater land. Normally one can only buy tickets to see the smash hit musical “Miss Saigon” for performances several months in advance.

But the Gulf War has dealt a severe blow to West End theaters, because the threat of terrorist activities has deterred tourists from traveling. Lavish musicals favored by tourists, like “Saigon,” “Phantom of the Opera,” “Starlight Express” and “Aspects of Love,” have been especially affected.

The signs of this phenomenon are clearly visible. Even in February, Shaftesbury Avenue, where many theaters are located, is normally crowded in the early evening. But in the last three weeks, the thoroughfare has been almost deserted.

The war has now officially claimed its first casualty on the London stage. The British production of “Into the Woods,” by Stephen Sondheim, will close in March because of drastically reduced attendance.

Andrew Leigh, general manager for “Into the Woods,” said, “We were doing very well until Jan. 12,” just a few days before the Gulf War began. “Unfortunately, the start of our new booking period coincided with the first week of the war.

“We expected a post-Christmas drop in our audiences, but the Gulf War was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We knew the recession was having an effect on everything, but I think we could have weathered the storm were it not for the absence of tourists, particularly from North America.”

For “Miss Saigon,” which was for months the hottest ticket in London, the unthinkable has happened: The Drury Lane Theatre Royal is advertising “a few balcony seats usually available” and “a few good seats still available for midweek matinees.” At Her Majesty’s Theatre, 40 to 60 return tickets are being sold for each performance of “Phantom of the Opera.”

Seats were available this week for “Starlight Express,” and no less than 100 seats were available for Wednesday’s matinee of “Aspects of Love.”

“The Gulf War is definitely a factor,” said Peter Thompson, a publicist handling many West End plays. “People seem more interested in staying home to watch TV than usual. As for tourists, London is empty, if you look around.”

One vulnerable production in the current climate would seem to be “Children of Eden,” a costly (2.2 million) musical based on the book of Genesis, which premiered last month. Thompson, who handles publicity for the show, noted, “It’s not doing very well. But I don’t know that you can blame the Gulf War as much as bad reviews.”

Lynne Kerwin, another West End publicist, said that it was relatively easy at present to obtain tickets for shows that were usually sold out for months ahead. “But people who go to more serious theater are still going,” she said.

Sir Peter Hall’s revival of Harold Pinter’s “The Homecoming” (which Kerwin represents) is thriving, and performances of “Wind in the Willows” and “Richard III” at the National Theatre have been selling out.

Susan Whiddington, development officer for the Society of West End Theatre, tried to put a brave face on the situation. “We are also hit by the recession and exchange rates, so we weren’t expecting that many tourists anyway,” she said. “Another thing is that the West End is less dependent on tourists than it was. They account for only 32% of our audience now, as opposed to 40% in 1985-86.”

Clearly, the longer the Gulf War lasts, the more serious will be the crisis for London theaters. Tourists start streaming into London in large numbers from April onwards.

But Whiddington refused to be disheartened by that threat, and pointed to the effect of the 1986 Libyan crisis, which also deterred tourists from foreign travel. A report in the current Society newsletter notes: “After an initial fall in the numbers of middle-aged tourists coming to London in the early summer of ‘86, there was a huge influx of young Americans flying in on discounted fares and packages produced by travel companies anxious to make up for lost business.

“With the Gulf conflict still in relatively early days, it may be dangerous to draw parallels, but . . . incentives offered by travel companies and airlines may encourage a new kind of overseas visitor.”

BRITISH ART:

The Gulf War has caused the postponement of an exhibition called “The Art of Death,” which was to have opened at the Victoria & Albert Museum in March. Subtitled “Objects From the English Death Ritual 1500-1800,” it would have illustrated attitudes toward death in post-Reformation England, with exhibits associated with death, funerals and mourning. The decision was taken unanimously by the museum’s trustees. “It would have been insensitive for us to proceed in view of the potential loss of life in the Gulf,” said Elizabeth Esteve-Coll, director of the Victoria & Albert. The museum will reschedule the exhibition, upon which it has spent three years of planning and development, “at a more appropriate time.”