Shows shut early in the West End

A STRING of West End shows have issued early closure notices as the credit crunch hits box office sales.

High-profile casualties include Riflemind, directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman, which is to close 10 weeks early on Saturday. The show opened on 19 September and had the backing of actress Cate Blanchett and her playwright husband, Andrew Upton.

Award-winning puppet musical Avenue Q, which has had many extensions, will now close a month early at the Noel Coward Theatre on 28 March next year.

Eurobeat, the spoof Eurovision song contest musical, will also shut a fortnight earlier than planned at the Novello Theatre. It follows the sudden closure of Girl With A Pearl Earring, based on the novel by Tracey Chevalier, at the Theatre Royal Haymarket and a spate of similar cancellations.

That was the second production in a row at the Theatre Royal Haymarket to shut early after the musical, Marguerite, finished two months earlier than planned with producers blaming the economic downturn. Editor-in-chief of Whatsonstage.com, Terri Paddock, suggested theatres could offer "escapist" dramas, which are traditionally popular in a downturn.

She said: "It is a difficult time ... regular theatre-goers will be smarter about how they spend their money, while producers will be thinking of taking on the right projects."

Andrew Welsh, the producer of Girl With A Pearl Earring, said of the closure: "There were a number of reasons but the economic crisis would have played a role as well as the reviews."

Musical Never Forget, based on the story of a boy band, has already fallen victim to the downturn.

It opened at the Savoy Theatre in May but a planned move to the Lyric was cancelled and its West End run will finish in four weeks.

Producer, Jason Haigh-Ellery, said: "Two years ago, producers were queuing up with shows to fill theatres. It's not quite the reverse now but it's very different. We are being a lot more careful."