"This all-star mix of live and pre-recorded music was a major crowd-pleaser," declared David Rooney of the Hollywood Reporter, saying the event would be "regarded as a wonderfully chaotic treasure trove by some and a hot mess by others". The New Zealand Herald described the event at the Olympic Stadium in east London as "a pop culture smorgasbord that had touches of brilliance, beauty and bewilderment".
Olympic Effect - West End box office figures remained below traditional summer levels, but improved on the week leading into the Olympics, theatre managements have revealed. Figures vary across the board, with some shows suffering and others reporting a slight boost thanks to the games, but overall takings are estimated to be slightly down on previous summers, claims the Society of London Theatre.
SOLT chief executive Julian Bird told The Stage it was a "mixed picture" across the West End, but added that he expected the period to be a little down on last year. He said that footfall in the West End had increased since Transport for London had changed messages warning people to avoid central London due to congestion, with sales at the SOLT-run discount TKTS booth increasing by more than 50% between the two weeks.
Big Time - The Edinburgh International Festival is going large this year with three productions of "epic scale" being performed at the Royal Highland Centre. The new festival venue, which is about eight miles from the city centre, is being used for productions which would not fit in a conventional theatre.
International festival director Jonathan Mills described the Ingliston hall as a "warehouse" space. He said it was a "massive undertaking" to transform it for festival shows. The Ingliston venue is more commonly used for gardening and agriculture shows. But for the three-week run of Edinburgh's premier cultural festival, its Lowland Hall has been transformed to accommodate three major shows.
They are Theatre du Soleil's Les Naufrages Du Fol Espoir, Polish director Grzegorz Jarzyna's take on Macbeth and Christoph Marthaler's response to My Fair Lady, retitled Meine Faire Dame - Ein Sprachlabor.
(Jim Evans)
