Parts of London’s West End were effectively in lockdown today as theatre shows were suspended and pubs and restaurant suffered a wave of cancellations triggered by mounting fears over the new Covid variant sweeping the capital.
Big-budget productions from The Lion King at the Lyceum to Life of Pi at Wyndham’s Theatre halted performances due to virus outbreaks among their cast and crew – a decision which is costing producers hundreds of thousands of pounds.
The Royal Shakespeare Company’s production of A Comedy Of Errors at the Barbican and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time in Wembley were also cancelled, while the National Theatre postponed a preview of Hex after a lead actor caught the virus.
Others which have been suspended include The Rhythmics at Southwark Playhouse, Force Majeure at Donmar Warehouse and Fair Play at the Bush Theatre. Moulin Rouge at Piccadilly Theatre also suspended shows but has now restarted.
Restaurants and pubs in the West End have been left ‘devastated’ by people cancelling bookings due to fears over the spread of the so-called ‘Omicron’ variant, which has become the dominant Covid strain in London.
The capital's Covid infection rate has spiralled to its highest level since January, when stringent curbs were in place, rising 55 per cent in a fortnight from 347 to 537 cases per 100,000 people. And hospitalisations have risen by 50 per cent over the same period, from 90 to 140 admissions a day on average. Deaths remain flat but it can take up to a month for fatalities to start rising due to the time it takes to fall seriously ill.
Sadiq Khan’s spokesman suggested the Mayor of London would back local restrictions, saying it was better to ‘act now’ rather than wait for the virus to spiral out of control.
But Tory representatives urged Government ministers to rely on ‘strong vaccine protection’ and ramp up Boris Johnson’s booster drive instead.
Almost every one of the 90 restaurants in the area have suffered cancellations in the past week with bookings down by at least 20 per cent in what should be their busiest time of the year – and they fear the introduction of controversial vaccine passports will spell the end for many businesses in the hospitality industry.
One pub manager in Covent Garden said every single booking for a Christmas party in their private room was cancelled last week, while a nearby restaurant had 100 people cancel in just one day over the weekend.
West End shopper numbers are still 30 per cent down on pre-pandemic levels, with business group New West End Company blaming the ‘hammer blow’ of Government orders to work from home returning this week.
UK Hospitality said venues had been limiting their menus and closing on slower trade days in recent months, with the emergence of Omicron having caused even more closures.
The trade body’s chief executive Kate Nicholls told MailOnline today: ‘Venues in Central London were already suffering from staff shortages, prior to the Omicron variant. Recent announcements have triggered high levels of cancellations and consumer confidence has fallen through the floor due to the uncertainty that is now prevalent. Due to labour and supply chain shortages, venues all across the country were limiting their menus and trading days due to a lack of staff.
‘This is the time of year when some venues make up to 25 per cent – sometimes more – of their annual revenue which carries them through the fallow months of January, February and March.
‘In no other public spaces has so much time, money and effort been invested to safeguard the wellbeing of staff and customers – hospitality venues are certainly the safest places in which to celebrate the festive period with family and friends.’
The Lion King, which is one of London's most popular musicals and is now in its 21st year at the Lyceum (pictured today), said that performances today and tomorrow were cancelled 'due to Covid-enforced absences within our cast and crew'
The Royal Shakespeare Company's The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican in London has had to cancel a raft of shows
The above maps show areas where the Omicron Covid variant has been detected in England over the two weeks to November 20 (left), and to December 4 (right). Areas where the variant has been detected are not coloured yellow. It shows how it has gone from just one local authority, to about half of the country. Areas with darker colours have detected more cases
The above graph shows the seven-day average for hospital admissions in different regions of England. It reveals that in London (orange) there has been a steady increase
This graph shows the Covid infection rate per 100,000 people in England's regions. It also shows there has been a rapid uptick in London (red) while cases remain largely flat in other regions
The above graph shows how Omicron cases are rising across England's regions. PCRs search for three specific genes to tell whether someone has Covid, but with Omicron one of the genes is so mutated - the S-gene - that it does not show up with the tests. Cases with this gene missing are coloured purple above, with the graph showing their numbers quickly increasing
Sadiq Khan’s spokesman suggested the Mayor of London would back local restrictions, saying it was better to ‘act now’ rather than wait for the virus to spiral out of control
The Lion King, which is one of London's most popular musicals and is now in its 21st year at the Lyceum, said that performances today and tomorrow were cancelled 'due to Covid-enforced absences within our cast and crew'.
Producers aim to restart shows on Thursday and said those due to attend today or tomorrow would be 'contacted by email in the coming days' and given information on how to exchange tickets, get a credit voucher or a refund.
They added: 'We apologise for the disappointment and for any inconvenience this may cause. Thank you for your continued support. We look forward to welcoming you to see the show on a future date.'
Meanwhile the new show of Life of Pi, which only opened last week, had to cancel performances between last Thursday and today.
The production, which recently extended booking until 29 May 2022 with the release of 70,000 new tickets, said 'several' cases of Covid-19 were detected among the company.
The show's producers said in a statement: 'Despite the robust measures taken, unfortunately there have been several cases of Covid in the company and performances have had to be cancelled until and including Monday December 13.
'Audiences will be contacted by their point of purchase. We look forward to welcoming people back to Wyndham's Theatre from December 15 (tomorrow).'
The Royal Shakespeare Company's The Comedy of Errors at the Barbican in London has had to cancel all performances up to and including December 22 'due to cases of Covid-19 in the company'.
An RSC spokesman said: 'The combination of cases means that we are unable to go ahead with our rehearsed understudies of alternative versions of the show. Our priority is keeping everybody safe, and cancelling performances is a last resort.'
The National Theatre's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, which is currently playing at the Wembley Park Theatre before going on tour next month, has also had to cancel performances.
A spokesman for the show tweeted: Despite robust safety measures on the production, members of the company of #CuriousIncident at @troubadourWPark have unfortunately tested positive for COVID.
'As a result, we regrettably have had to cancel today's matinee performance at 2pm, Wednesday 15 December at 7pm and Thursday 16 December at 2 and 7pm.
'Ticket holders will be contacted by their point of sale to rebook for a performance of their choice.'
Another show to cancel today was the Rhythmics musical at Southwark Playhouse. A spokesman said:' Hey folks. We are so incredibly sad to have to let you know that due to positive Covid-19 cases within the company, we have found it necessary, along with the producers, to cancel the remainder of the run of The Rhythmics.
'Confirmed positive cases have lead to multiple performance cancellations, and the company have had press night postponed twice, throwing the future of this limited-run production into uncertainty.
The Donmar Warehouse said it had to cancel last night's performance of Force Majeure due to a 'suspected case of Covid-19 within the company'. The National Theatre's The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time has also had to cancel shows
The Rhythmicsat Southwark Playhouse has had to cancel all remaining shows 'due to positive Covid-19 cases within the company'. Bush Theatre cancelled last night's performance of Fair Play due to 'Covid isolation requirements'
