Another blow to live entertainment

Britain’s largest theatre operator has announced that all its venues will remain closed until the end of June at least.

Bosses at Ambassadors Theatre Group, which operates five West End venues and 22 regional theatres, have  suspended all performances until Sunday June 28.

The closure affects tours by comedians including Jack Dee, Julian Clary, Rob Beckett, Romesh Ranganathan, Josh Widdecombe, Rhod Gilbert and more – although most dates have already been rescheduled.

The news comes as news as a leading virologist suggested live gigs would not return until 2021.  

In a statement, the company said: ‘All of us at ATG are enormously proud to be a small part of British Theatre, renowned as the greatest in the world. The arts have inspired, educated, entertained and enriched the lives of audiences for hundreds of years but has never been challenged like this. We believe we can come back faster and stronger than ever before.’

Its West End venues are Ambassadors Theatre, Duke of York's Theatre, Harold Pinter Theatre, The Playhouse Theatre and Savoy Theatre.

And regionally it operates The Alexandra Theatre, Birmingham; Aylesbury Waterside Theatre; Bristol Hippodrome; Edinburgh Playhouse; Grand Opera House York; King's Theatre Glasgow; Leas Cliff Hall, Folkestone; Liverpool Empire; Milton Keynes Theatre; New Theatre Oxford; New Victoria Theatre, Woking; New Wimbledon Theatre; Opera House Manchester; Palace Theatre Manchester; Princess Theatre, Torquay; Regent Theatre, Stoke-on-Trent; Rhoda McGaw Theatre, Woking; Richmond Theatre; Sunderland Empire; Theatre Royal Brighton; Theatre Royal Glasgow; and Victoria Hall, Stoke-on-Trent.

Published: 7 May 2020