West End theatre cancellations extended to 31st May due to coronavirus pandemic

Theatres in the West End will not open until the summer at the earliest, as the Society of London Theatre has announced the closure of all productions until 31^st May.

Performances were first suspended form 16^th March following government advice issued by the Prime Minister asking social venues to close. On 20^th March, performances were formally cancelled until 26^th April.

In a new statement, performances have been suspended until at least 31^st May.

The statement reads: "We are now cancelling all performances up until and including 31 May 2020 to help us process existing bookings whilst we wait for further clarity from the government in terms of when we will be able to reopen.

We are so sorry that in these testing and difficult times you are not able to enjoy the show you have booked for and hope the following helps clarify next steps in respect of your tickets."

It also emphasised the fact that customers affected by cancellations need not contact their point of purchase, as customer service teams are working through contacting bookers systematically, and as quickly as possible:

"Theatre box office and ticket agents teams are continuing to work through the very high number of ticket orders affected by the cancellations. "An average of 300,000 people a week attend West End theatres, so this a huge task. The situation is exacerbated by the fact that all our teams are now working remotely in response to government restrictions, many with reduced numbers of staff due to the virus, and this will be adding to the time it will take us to process your order.

"We are processing in strict date order of performance, so you are likely to be contacted after the date you were due to go to the theatre. However, we want to reassure you that you will be contacted, and your order will be processed, but please do bear with us."