Cameron Mackintosh is not only the producer of some of London and New York’s longest running mega-hits of the past 30 years, including PHANTOM OF THE OPERA and LES MIS, but they’ve made him wealthy enough to buy the very theatres where they’re performed. After the restoration of the Victoria Palace Theatre ahead of the opening of Hamilton, he’s announced Wyndham's, Noël Coward, Gielgud, the Novello and the Queen's Theatre will also undergo improvement.
The big news is that LES MISERABLES will move from its current home at the Queens Theatre where it moved from The Palace Theatre to a new venue yet to be announced however Mackintosh has announced that the show will not break its run.
In a statement, the company said: "Plans are being finalised to ensure that this legendary musical success will continue its run in the West End during the Queen's Theatre closure and announcement with these arrangements will be made in the autumn."
They also tell that the first of the theatres to undergo improvements will be Wyndham's, which will commence early next month. Then the Noël Coward and Gielgud will follow in 2019, with the Queen's Theatre works taking place in 2019-20.
As well as getting a front of house spruce up we’re told that The Queen's Theatre will also benefit from major renovation backstage. Conservationists needn’t fear however, the producer has been guided by historic plaster and paintwork conservationist Richard Ireland and structural engineer Chris Boydell.
Mackintosh said: "Having just completed the hugely rewarding but very expensive restoration of the Victoria Palace, news of the timing of these works which are necessary to ensure that my other theatres will be in tip top condition for actors, producers and audiences, long after the final curtain has dropped on me, was not the most welcome. There are major financial consequences, not just the considerable cost of the capital works, but the knock on costs of closing these theatres for several months will run into many millions of pounds. However, I love these buildings and luckily my success as a producer has given me the resources to preserve their life for another 100 years - so that the show can go on and on and on!"
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