New lockdown cancels performances at National, Hampstead and Chichester Festival Theatres

Photo credit: The Other Richard/Richard Davenport

More venues have confirmed the cancellation of their upcoming show runs, in light of the new lockdown.

The National Theatre has been forced to cancel the rest of its Dick Whittington pantomime run, after performing only five days of in-person shows at the start of December before London entered Tier 3.

In a statement from the venue, they said: "Staging our panto involved an enormous amount of hard work by freelancers and National Theatre staff, so we are devastated that it had to close so soon after it opened and was experienced by such a small live audience."

Only the second pantomime in the NT’s history, the venue are currently preparing to present Dick Whittington on its new National Theatre At Home streaming service soon.

Chichester Festival Theatre has also had to postpone its production of Benefactors, starring Hugh Dennis and Claire Skinner.

The play was due to visit Bath, Cambridge, Canterbury, Salford and Cheltenham after its opening run in Chichester.

Executive and Artistic Directors Kathy Bourne and Daniel Evans said: "We are bitterly disappointed by the postponement of Benefactors, which promised to be an outstanding revival of a play which would have been a real tonic for audiences around England. With the new lockdown, it's become clear that it's simply not possible to mount a touring theatre show over the next few months."

"We are now focusing all our energies on planning for Festival 2021, which will open in April, and we look forward to sharing what's in store for our audiences this Spring in due course."

Hampstead Theatre has also cancelled all remaining performances of The Dumb Waiter on similar grounds after being postponed several times.

Sad news, Besties.