Friday 26th August 2011 by Will Langdale
A quick pick of what’s hot in the TicketTree.com office
A pig’s ear
After pinning our colours to the mast back in June, and raving about its extension through until January 2012, Betty Blue Eyes has squealed its last and announced early closure on September 24th. It’s really rather a shame, given strong reviews and a cast that included what could conceivably described as celebrities, including Sarah Lancashire (off Corrie) and Reece Shearsmith (of League of Gentlemen fame).
Betty is based on Alan Bennett’s A Private Function, which is about an illegally-raised pig in rationed post-World War II Yorkshire. The residents of the village want to raise the pig to celebrate the Queen’s wedding to Prince Philip, but when a food inspector arrives it looks like their hot-to-trot plans are headed straight for the abattoir.
Cameron Mackintosh, the show’s producer, was surprisingly candid about the reason for the closure in a statement issued on his behalf:
“It seems that the prevailing economic uncertainties nationally are leading audiences to take less risks on spending their money on new and unknown work and to seek refuge in safe and familiar titles and material. It is, perhaps, significant that Les Misérables and The Phantom of the Opera continue to play to packed houses every night.” (quoted via The Stage)
What a shame! Cameron also talked about “amazing reviews” and “positive word of mouth” – what more can you do to promote a new production? Naturally there’s always the success stories, but it’s a bit disheartening to get a reminder like this that it’s economic rather than artistic viability that keeps the West End going. That’s not to say that Betty Blue Eyes is Macbeth, or even that a successful show can’t be artistically fulfilling (don’t get us started on War Horse), it’s just something that an idealistic theatregoer likes to forget!
That, or leave it to the people who run the theatre!
Regardless, lots of people have gone to seen Betty and had a fantastic night out, so if you can get there before it closes, absolutely do.
Going green
Speaking of celebrities, albeit five paragraphs ago, Amanda Holden announced this week that she’s pregnant, which is fantastic news! The ex Britain’s Got Talent judge is currently starring in Shrek the Musical as love interest Princess Fiona. Naturally the mum-to-be deserves some maternity leave, which leaves a princess-shaped hole in the young musical. Well, after Holden plays her final performance on October 3rd, Kimberley Walsh, best known as a member of Girls Aloud, steps into the role a few days later on October 5th.
But not everyone’s happy about the switch. One of our favourite theatre bloggers, West End Wendy, has an article up about celebrity casting, and it’s well worth a read. Have a gander.
Deal of the week
With the summer holidays drawing to an end (a rainy end where we are), remember that many shows have exclusion periods that end on September 3rd. If you’re one of the people who gets that little bit longer for their holidays, we’d recommend taking advantage of the discounted Mamma Mia! midweek dates that begin on Monday September 5th. And to sweeten the deal, stick in MAMMABLOG as a voucher code and get yourself another 5% off! Wonderful!