Record audiences boost Theatreland

London's Theatreland is on course for its biggest year since records began.

New figures reveal that West End box offices are booming thanks to record numbers of visitors in the first quarter of this year.

Hits including Mary Poppins and The Producers have helped boost audiences for musical productions by six per cent to more than 3.2million.

And Sir Derek Jacobi's near sell-out run in Don Carlos has spearheaded the revival of plays, for which audiences rose to 833,751.

The figures were collated by the Society of London Theatre. Chief executive Richard Pulford said: "Theatreland is buzzing." The buzz is set to grow with a series of highprofile openings. Billy Elliot, Blood Wedding and Kevin Spacey's The Philadelphia Story open to the critics this week.