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Mackintosh, known for producing shows like
"Phantom of the Opera" and "Cats", welcomed audiences back to
his Sondheim Theatre three days after indoor entertainment
venues reopened their doors in the latest lockdown easing in
England.
"Several of our shows already have got back the advance that
they had before the pandemic hit. So I am very encouraged in the
public interest, which I think will only get stronger,"
Mackintosh told Reuters.
"This is the first week London's reopened with the restaurants.
You can see, you can feel it in the street, London is coming
alive again. And it's pleasantly busy and buzzy now."
About a third of London theatres have reopened this week but
with strict social distancing measures, meaning they have to
operate at 50% capacity. Big musical productions are only
planning to reopen in the summer after the last phase in the
roadmap out of lockdown, scheduled for June 21.
Mackintosh, 74, owns eight West End theatres and is behind the
London productions of shows such as "Hamilton" and "Mary Poppins".
"Les Misérables - The Staged Concert" is smaller in size.
"When the entire rig of the theatre lifted up in the air, there
were gasps and cheers as well," he said.
"It really is a proper show because there are over 50 people on
stage there. And I don't think in these COVID times anyone was
expecting that."
Mackintosh said he hoped the rest of his shows would start
opening towards the end of July and August.
"Not everyone has been able to come back to our business... but
the ones that have come back, they've come back with such
passion and they are so thrilled," Mackintosh said.
"There's been tremendous camaraderie between all the producers
because everybody understands that their colleagues are having
problems. So I think there's been more cooperation,
collaboration between producers and theatre owners, both sides
of the Atlantic and around the world than I have ever known."
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Writing by Marie-Louise Gumuchian;
Editing by Rosalba O'Brien)
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