Cameron Mackintosh closes The Phantom of the Opera permanently

Photo credit: Marijan Murat

In an article written for the Evening Standard, Cameron Mackintosh announced that he has been forced to permanently shut down his and Andrew Lloyd Webber’s West End and touring productions of The Phantom of the Opera.

Whilst this is devastating news, he says that he is “determined” to bring the popular show back to London in the future at some point.

Mackintosh, along with Lloyd Webber, claimed that whilst they hope to preserve the “brilliant original” production of the show, it isn’t currently known which version will return.

The piece expresses Mackintosh’s concern for the theatre industry as a whole, in the wake of downsizing his organisation’s workforce by 60% to guarantee its longevity.

He said: "For the first time ever there are very few new shows waiting in the wings to replace the shows that fail. The creative supply line has been ruptured for least 18 months. London and New York can't properly function until theatres reopen."

In a plea to the Prime Minster, Mackintosh said: "Theatres aren't meant to be dark, so please, Boris: 'Curtain up, light the lights, we have nothing to hit but the heights'. We are all raring to go back to work. But we need the money to survive and a realistic period of time to plan wisely so that the curtain stays up once we reopen. We are fed up of no business, we want to be back in show business."

To read the full Evening Standard piece, please click here.