How Badly Will the World Cup Affect Theatre???

Football fans are reaching fever pitch with the official opening of the World Cup tomorrow – but there may not be many theatre producers amongst them. The West End anticipates that box office may drop by as much as 20% over the next month of the tournament, and the better England does, the worse the West End does, with three to four of the national matches falling on Friday or Saturday nights at peak West End performance times. Nica Burns, theatre owner and producer and president of the Society of London Theatre (SOLT), told The Stage that the World Cup fills the industry with “dread”. Meanwhile, on Whatsonstage.com, we’ve launched a video competition challenging theatregoers – whether they love it or loathe it – to come up with a new World Cup song or skit. Click here for full competition details!