Double show days at weekends are common practice on Broadway, as weekends are the busiest periods when the majority of 9 to 5 workers are free. The Monday or Tuesday is then the ‘dark’ day where no performances are held. Mondays are notoriously the quietest nights at the theatre for most shows and so this makes perfect sense.
Whilst the West End has always had a sprinkling of performances on Sundays, 90% of shows have always taken this as their day off.
Well now things look set to change as a number of West End shows are selling tickets for Sunday performances and more expected to follow suit.
The Phantom of the Opera, Les Miserables, Cinderella, Back To The Future, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, Hamilton and Mary Poppins are some of the shows you can now book to see on a Sunday, with most now due to hold at least a matinee performance.
It makes perfect sense for producers to capitalise on the busiest days of the week and to be honest I’m surprised this hasn’t happened before. However, it’s not such great news for the cast and crew of these shows who will now have to forgo their free Sunday.
What do you think about this news? Will you be taking up the offer of a Sunday matinee this Summer (if things go according to plan)?
Photo: Johan Persson
