Thumbs Up For Theatre

The West End had a record year in 2008. 13.8m people parked their bums, according to the Society of London Theatre's figures, an audience increase of 1%. We're plumping more for musicals rather than plays and old, established favourites at that. We Will Rock You, Wicked and Billy Elliot were among the winners, while Gone With The Wind and Marguerite died a death. (Although apparently they were turkeys.) Stars like David Tennant, Kenneth Branagh and Josh Hartnett clearly helped pull in the crowds. We're getting more high-minded too; dance, opera and the weirdly named “entertainments” were up 5%. Happily, theatre seems to be bucking the credit crunch trend. Audiences rose at the end of last year and advance sales are almost double those of two years ago. So it's official: if you want to forget your financial woes, there's nothing like doing it live. (Image / Andyrob)