Mamma Mia! restarts performances in Japan

Audiences in Japan were saying thank you for the music as performances of Mamma Mia! were able to recommence.

The performance had stringent safety measures in place including temperature checks, social distance seating, the wearing of face masks by the audience and frequent tests and health monitoring of the company and theatre staff.

The show will play in Yokohama until 23 August, before moving to Fukuoka (Canal City Theatre) and then Kyoto (Kyoto Theatre). The Japanese run is the first time since the pandemic that the show has been able to recommence.

Producer Judy Craymer said: "It is fantastic to have opened Mamma Mia! in Yokohama yesterday, and hope that it is restorative at this time – bringing people together is the joy of theatre. Safety of our audiences, company and crew is paramount and this opening gives us optimism that it is possible that live theatre can happen again. We hope that it won't be long before our other productions can open again in London and around the world. Theatre is the heart beat of any city and the show must go on safely."

The stage show is written by Catherine Johnson, directed by Phyllida Lloyd and choreographed by Anthony Van Laast, with design by Mark Thompson, lighting design by Howard Harrison, sound design by Andrew Bruce and Bobby Aitken, and musical supervision, additional material and arrangements by Martin Koch.

Japan has reported fewer than a thousand deaths from coronavirus so far, though has seen a spike in cases in the country's capital Tokyo in recent days. According to government adviser Kiyoshi Kurokawa, this was due to a failure to stick to guidelines to prevent contagion.