Even though the recession was expected to reduce the amount of attendance at West End theatres, new figures from July show that theatre attendance has hit record highs.
Box office takings were reportedly up by 3.5% in the past year ending on July 18th and audiences increased by about 2.5% in the one year span.
According to the Society of London Theatre, in just the first part of the year 7 million trips were made to the theatres which it hailed as a ?cause for celebration? and helped display the high calibre performances that are put on each year in West End as people evidently were not willing to go without.
In particular, musicals seemed to be holding the most weight on the West End stages with musical productions such as Blood Brothers, Oliver, and Billy Elliot responsible for 61% of all theatregoers? attendance.
However, this is not to discount the stability of plays as well since the first six months of 2009 showed attendance for the year was up by 19% with a record number of 1,886,500 attendees reported. The high attendance made plays responsible for one quarter of all theatre visits.
Overall, 13m people went to London theatres, and even though attendance dropped on a year end average in the first quarter by 5% they were back up by 8% in the second quarter of 2009.
Chief executive for the London Theatre Society, Richard Pulford, stated that the increase in attendance should be celebrated not just in West End, but all over Britain since this is a sign that the London economy is beginning to improve. He continued to state that it is wonderful that even in hard times instead of boxing themselves in at home; Britons are continuing to attempt to live their life at the theatres where they can be uplifted.
Some suggest that the spike in theatre attendance may have been a result of budget Britons who decided to holiday in the country instead of travelling abroad creating a greater need for homeland entertainment options.
