Longrunners Extend: Mousetrap, Black & StompDate: 16 March 2004
Several West End longrunners have announced extensions to their booking periods.
At the Fortune Theatre, Stephen Mallatratt's adaptation of Susan Hill's ghost story The Woman in Black, which marked its 15th birthday last year, had added a further five months to its booking period. Originally produced at Scarborough's Stephen Joseph Theatre in December 1987, The Woman in Black has been seen by over two million theatregoers since opening in London in 1989.
Directed ever since its opening by Robin Herford, the two-hander is now on its 26th cast, Dominic Rickhards and Hugh Ross. The Woman in Black had been taking bookings up to 7 August 2004, and has now extended its schedule to cover performances through to 8 January 2005.
At the Vaudeville Theatre, dance extravaganza Stomp has added a further four months to its schedule and is now taking bookings up to 26 September 2004. The show, which originated in Brighton in 1991, has toured all over the world but only started its first West End run at the Vaudeville Theatre in September 2002.
Stomp transforms the junk and clutter of urban life into a source of rhythm and dance. In 100 minutes of pure theatricality, a cast of eight performers use boots, bins, garbage, zippo lighters, plumbers' plungers and everything including the kitchen sink to hammer out a symphony.
Meanwhile, the ultimate longrunner, Agatha Christie's The Mousetrap - which celebrated its 50th West End anniversary, with HM The Queen in attendance, on 25 November 2002 - has added another six months to its booking period at St Martin's Theatre (where it transferred in March 1974, after 20 years at its original home, the Ambassadors, next door).
A national and theatreland institution, the world record-breaking murder mystery, according to one commentator, is to the West End what the ravens are to the Tower of London - if it were to leave, British theatre may well collapse. The Mousetrap is now booking to 27 November 2004.
- by Terri Paddock
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